


The Stars I Made For You

by Stelera



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Anal, Kismesissitude (roleplay), M/M, Matespritship, Nook, Roleplay, Rough Sex, Sex Toys, Toys, Vibrators, Xeno, Xenophilia, bloodswap (roleplay), johnkat - Freeform, tentabulge
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-07
Updated: 2013-10-13
Packaged: 2017-12-28 17:42:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 38,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/994725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stelera/pseuds/Stelera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An evening of innocent stargazing bleeds into passion. Karkat’s doing his best to prepare a romantic and sensual evening for ‘date nigh’, but John has plans that might vary a bit from their typical vanilla. Maybe shaking things up every once in a while isn’t such a bad idea after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Stars I Made For You

Chapter 1:

 

It was just after twilight on the fresh planet, the skies clearing up from a slightly cloudy day. John and Jade were laying out on a large blanket, heads next to each other with bodies laying out away from each other. John had one ear-bud in his ear playing on low as Jade kept prattling on beside him.

“You can’t see all of them now, but all twelve of the trolls’ symbols have a representation in the stars.” She gestured with her finger, drawing out the shape of a constellation regardless of whether John could actually follow her movement or not. “That right there is Leo, made for Nepeta’s symbol. You remember her, right?” Jade giggled and smiled, canine ears twitching on top of her head.

"The small one who hung out with the horse one, right?" John adjusted his glasses and squinted, hoping to figure out which she was talking about.

“That’s right,” she replied cheerfully, “Equius’s constellation is Sagittarius, but it’s not visible until the winter.” She sighed and folded her hands neatly across her belly, giving a soft sigh and looking up at the night sky with gleeful wonderment. “Karkat made constellations for all his friends. It’s actually really impressive.”

"Yeah, it is," John sighed, placing a hand behind his head. A faint smile crossed his face as he thought about the angry alien. Under all that malice and crude language there was a brilliant mind. He just wished Karkat would be more confident instead of criticizing himself all the time.

“You know, when I say Karkat made constellations for all of his friends, I mean all of us.” Turning her eyes up, Jade reached up and tapped her ectobrother on the cheek with her knuckles. “He made Canis Major for me, Ophiuchus for Rose, and Fornax for Dave.” Giving John a sweet laugh and an affectionate nudge, she continued. “He made one for you, too.”

"What?" The boy pulled out his bud, turning his head to meet hers. "Which one? It isn't the bears or pans, is it? Oh god, it's the dipper, isn't it? A giant bucket." John slapped a hand over his eyes. "Karkat, you perv."

“It’s not the dipper, you moron,” Jade barked, rolling over onto her stomach and glaring down at the boy with a snort. “The dipper isn’t even a bucket, it’s a ladle. Why don’t you go ask him yourself, if you’re so darn curious?”

"That... is a good idea. What's he even doing anyway? He said you had him on some research thing and has been all secretive all day."

“That was ages ago,” Jade sighed, flopping back on her back, “my guess is that he’s back in your room by now. You know that troll of yours has quite the addiction to the internet; you might want to go grab him away from the screen for a minute or two. You could drag him out here and make him show you the stars.”

John smiled and rolled onto his stomach, tweaking Jade's ear playfully. "You're pretty smart, sis. I think I'll go do just that."

“Good luck,” she giggled, giving him a quick wave as he stood. She quickly decaptchalogued her PDA. ~~~~

gardenGnostic [GG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

 

GG: i hope you’re ready.

GG: he’s headed your way now!

CG: FUCKING SHIT, HARLEY.

CG: I’M NOT FUCKING DONE YET.

GG: you had like an hour!!

GG: that’s more than enough time.

GG: you should be done by now!

CG: WELL I’M FUCKING NOT.

CG: CAN’T YOU STALL HIM LONGER?

GG: afraid not.

GG: ready or not, here comes Johnny!

GG: good luck!!!

CG: FUCK.

 

gardenGnostic [GG] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

 

John waved at the girl before he went inside, wondering who she was pestering. He made his way down past the blocks, heading towards his own room. Passing the kitchen, he heard someone creeping up behind him, so after a minute he looked over his shoulder. Dave had hunched down, hands up like a T-rex, following him all the while.

"What are you doing, dude," John asked.

"Creepin." Strider shrugged.

"Why?" John huffed, stopping to turn around and stare him down.

Dave just looked up at him through his shades with a small, devious smile. "I'm bored. Plus it's funny."

"Well, it's weird. Plus I'm heading to find Karkat."

"Big surprise. Goin' to get your interspecies mack on with the prissiest of them all. What a treat. I'm so jelly."

"Oh whatever. I just haven't seen him all day."

"Oh yeah, I forgot you two are joined at the hip now. I'm surprised since your separation you haven't died of the blood loss."

"What?" John crossed his arms.

"Well, there wasn't enough time to stitch up the wound after Harley ripped him off you this morning for work, so I'm assuming you've just been hobbling all day, spilling your heartbroken blood all over the place. You could at least mop up after yourself."

"Ok, I'm not that bad, you dick. It's late and I wanna go to my room anyway."

"Right. The two of you slobbering over each other after every fluke victory and your constant sexting isn't a sign of codependency."

"You're exaggerating."

"That may or may not be true, but you should still play me at Super Smash Bros."

"Dude, we played that yesterday. You gotta let it set for a few days."

"You're just scared that I'll wipe your ass in front of your boyfriend again." Dave smirked.

"No, I gotta pee and now I feel weird that you're still down there."

"You're just jealous you can't get low like me. I'm the lowest shorty in this bitch."

"Dave, you gotta lay off the rap. There ain't no shorties here."

"That is where you are wrong my friend. All can be shorties. One must simply reach within themselves and find their inner ho. Come down here and be a shorty, Egbert." Dave swayed for side to side, turning his hands from creeper claws to smooth palms, helping him balance as he worked his way down, crouching low to the ground.

"Bye Dave," John laughed and turned, continuing his trek to his block.

The blonde sighed and sunk to the floor, pulling his pocketpester from his back pocket.

 

turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

 

TG: i tried man

CG: ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? THAT WAS LESS THAN A MINUTE.

TG: hey, I said no promises

CG: YOU DIDN'T EVEN TRY YOU FUCKING TOOL.

TG: false. I laid down my best moves

TG: I'm literally lying on the floor now

TG: broken from my sick efforts at distraction

CG: YOU'RE A TERRIBLE LIAR, STRIDER.

TG: also false

TG: that boy is hellbent for your tender loins

TG: you lucky troll bastard you

TG: have fun

CG: DAMN YOU AND HARLEY BOTH.

TG: rude

CG: I NEED TEN MORE MINUTES.

TG: you have two

CG: DOUBLE FUCK.

TG: you kids have fun

CG: FUCK OFF.

TG: can do

 

turntechGodhead [TG] ceased pestering carcinoGeneticist [CG]

 

Making his way along the grey metallic walls, John started humming, picking up his pace once he got close to his room. He actually did have to pee now, and he didn't feel like ducking into anyone else's block. Finally getting there, John punched in his code and the door slid open.

As John stepped inside, the first thing he saw was the backside of his troll matesprit as he bent over the side of the bed. Karkat quickly stood up and turned around, sitting back on the bed and doing his best to look nonchalant, hoping John wouldn’t notice the silk sheets he was in the process of swapping onto the bed. If he’d had another ten minutes like he’d asked for, he would have been able to have the room completely put together. He’d spent the better part of the evening splicing together captcha codes for all the things he needed. Just because he was the only one with any semblance of usable coding experience—no John’s shitty coding did not fucking count—he wound up with the menial task of parsing through every fucking code in their arsenal. It sucked shameblobes and wasn’t in the least bit fair.

“Fuck. Hey, John. What brings you here? I thought you and Harley were stargazing. Get bored of my fucking gift to you and your entire fucking species?” He feigned a quick smile, silently worrying that John would start noticing all the candles and rose petals littering the room.

"Um, actually I was gonna ask you about that specifically, but now I'm wondering what you're up to." John began crossing his arms and tried to glance around the room, but his bladder forced him upright and on a quick path to the bathroom. "Hold that thought," he groaned, the lavatory block's door sliding shut behind him.

Heaving a sigh, the troll flopped backwards onto the bed and groaned to himself before rolling over and quickly smoothing out the sheets, tossing a handful of petals over them before John finished in the restroom. The sound of running water caught his attention, and he hastily threw John’s slime-ghost comforter over the new sheets to hide his work.

The door slide open and John waltzed back in until he reached the bed, plopping down on the other side of Karkat. "Ok, better. Now I was gonna aaaasssskk...." he trailed off as he looked about, the sight of the petals and now low lighting catching his attention. "Um... hey Karkat," he smiled knowingly.

“Yeah, you were going to ask about the stars I made for you?” Karkat questioned, jumping up and grabbing John by the collar of his shirt and hauling him to his feet too. “What’s a better place to explain the fucking interstellar constellations of my creation to your puny underdeveloped thinkpan than under the fucking stars?” Karkat gave John’s shirt another tug and hauled him towards the door.

"OhokthatsoundsgoodwhatsallthisstuffKarkat?" John tried to say, but they were already out of the door and down the hall towards the stairway to the roof.

“That,” Karkat grunted with his claws still embedded in his matesprit’s clothes, “is for later. Now, stars.” The rooftop was empty; there was a small group that was barely visible on a hilltop below, a fair distance away, but the roof was secluded and quiet.  Karkat quickly turned off the only lamp on top of the communal living apartments, limiting the visible light to the partial moon and stars above.

"Ok," John murmured, the room now dark enough that he had to clutch Karkat's arm, the troll's night-vision being far superior to his own. The sweater was warm under his hold, but as they made their way to the balcony he savored it, finally getting used to the irritating fabric. Outside there were a few chairs set up against the guardrail, and they sat in them, pulling them together until their knees touched. "Ok, so which one is mine?"

“What makes you think I made you a fucking constellation, nookbreath?” Karkat grumbled, resting his hands on the edge of his armrests and doing his best to look irate. He glanced at the human out of the corner of his eye, and pursed his lips, knowing full well John wouldn’t believe him.

"Jade said you made one for everyone, so I assumed." John shrugged, sitting back in his chair. With an unseen smile, John pulled up his legs and laid them on Karkat's lap.

“What makes you think I’d put forth the time and effort to carefully, meticulously draw an image in the stars I made, specifically to represent an air-headed loudmouth dickbeat like you?” Karkat quickly snatched the shoes and socks from John’s feet, giving John’s feet a quick squeeze and grazing them softly with his claws.

"Oh, so you didn't. Too bad... that'd have been amazing." John tried hard not to twitch as Karkat touched his feet. It tickled. "Okay then, show me the rest of them."

“Well you can’t see the vast fucking majority of them now, asslord,” Karkat snapped back, rubbing his thumbs up through the arches of John’s feet. “But right now you can see Nepeta,” he pointed up to the sky, doing his best to indicate the constellation as non-nebulously as possible. “Fuck, I mean ‘The Est33med Pouncelor.’ You can see her, I don’t know, stalking prey or some hoofbeast shit. There’s her body,” Karkat said, pointing out the stars that made up the body of the constellation before continuing, “and there’s her ridiculous-as-fuck tail.”

"Now is that Leo in our terms? Because I can never find that one," John winced as he suppressed a kick. Karkat's hands tightened around his heel and pressed into it, making John sigh.

“Right,” Karkat mused, carefully rubbing at the soles of John’s feet, thumbs diligently pressing into the arches, “you humans went and renamed and redefined all my fucking hard work. She’s Leo, which you nookstains decided was a manebeast. Whatever.” He paused in massaging his matesprit’s feet to direct John’s eyes towards another constellation. “And that one there is what you humans call ‘Antlia.’ Of course, if your worthless sack-of-shit astronomers had more than two thought-corpuscles to rub together, they would have decided it looked like something fucking better than an air pump, but what-the-fuck-ever. It’s an air pump.”

“Wait, hang on," John whispered, taking back his foot and getting up. He slowly moved over to his boyfriend's chair, reaching out to grab Karkat's hands and move them out of the way. He gently pushed the troll back and sat in the empty space, laying his back against his chest. "Ok, what are you talking about? Which one?" John squinted in the dark.

“This one,” Karkat replied, leaning in so his eyes were level with John’s and tracing the curve of the constellation with his index finger. “Of course, it looks different to the human astronomers than I intended. Jade could point out what the human definition is.” Karkat outlined the vague pattern in the stars, his cheek pressed against John’s.

"What is that even supposed to be, Mr. Vantas?" John leaned his head against the other's, touching his hairline to Karkat's temple. "It's like four stars."

“Well excuse me if I’m not fucking Troll da Vinci. Positioning stars is not a fucking easy task, okay?” Karkat huffed, giving John a slight shove and frowning at him. “I did my fucking best okay? And that’s like nineteen stars at least. Look.” He gestured again. “In Alternian, it’s called Ventus Nasljedi. There’s his body and head, and his arms spread out wide there and there.”

"Ok, but who is it? Like a legend or something? And what about that one?" John pointed to one of the most recognizable constellations, Orion's Belt. "I know it's like some hunter guy for us."

“Look, not every group of stars you humans decided to give a name was actually one of my drawings, okay? But Ventus was a great hero. Alternia doesn’t really have stories of heroes, so this one is a Karkat Vantas original. Ventus Nasljedi means He Who Inherited The Tempest.” With a sigh, he leaned his head against John’s, touching his nose to John’s cheek.

"So what's the story?" John adjusted his glasses and laid his hands on Karkat's knees.

“You should know, asslord,” Karkat muttered, “you were fucking there.” Turning his head just a bit, Karkat pressed his lips tenderly against John’s cheek.

Furrowing his brows in the dark, John moved his head towards the kiss by an inch to interrupt. "What?" When it was silent for more than ten seconds, John sat up and turned his head back, glaring at the troll more so because of the lack of light than his irritation. "Who's constellation is it?"

“You are such a dense sack of shit your mass per volume is comparable to the core of a fucking imploding star.” Karkat mumbled, bumping his nose against John’s jaw with a quiet grunt. “It’s your constellation, fucking pitiful moron.”

He looked back up to the collection of stars, trying to map them out with his horrible eyes.  He tried to see the image, like in his childhood, connecting each one to the other to try and see it. The combination of brighter and dimmer lights was beautiful, as far as he could tell, and was slightly set apart from the others, an unfilled space leaving a margin around it. "Karkat," he whispered, marveling at the mind-blowing tribute to him.

“You honestly didn’t think I’d make constellations for myself and all my friends and leave out the most important one, did you?” Karkat let out an airy chuckle and closed his eyes, giving John’s cheek another quick peck. “You’re such a piteous, crotchstained imbecile.” With a faint smile on his lips, Karkat moved his palm to rest against the back of John’s hand, carefully lacing their fingers together.

John's eyes scanned the sky. "Wait, then which one is yours? It isn't cancer, is it, because I can never find that one either."

“That’s the one,” he replied with a slight growl. “It isn’t visible yet, and it won’t be for another few Earth human perigees.” Karkat gave John’s hand a quick squeeze and leaned back slightly to get a good look at his matesprit’s face. “I can show you then if you’d like.”

John smiled. "I'd like that." He looked over his shoulder and leaned in slowly, trying to kiss him. His lips touched flesh, but it took a few seconds of searching to connect with the other set. But once he found his mark, John hummed into his boyfriend's mouth, gripping the alien's fingers lovingly.

With a chirrup in response, Karkat’s eyes fell closed and he returned the kiss with gentle affection, soaking in the warm feeling of John’s dry lips against his own. The troll relaxed contentedly, fingers tightening around his digits and holding them as his lips moved slowly against John’s. His free hand found John’s shoulder, and rubbed at the cloth-covered skin tentatively.

With a lazy chuckle John pressed his forehead to the other's, separating their lips. "So," he said, voice hushed, "what was that stuff downstairs for?"

“I dropped the ball on date night since Harley had me working in the lab,” Karkat grunted, averting his eyes. “I didn’t have time to make you dinner or fucking anything.” His shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh. “I figured I’d make it up to you by setting up something nice for tonight and letting you take it wherever you wanted. My way of saying ‘sorry I’m such a miserable nookstain of a matesprit,’ you know? I fucking hope that’s okay.”

"Was that tonight?" John looked up, taking his free hand to scratch the side of his head. "I thought we said a few nights from now." After a moment he shrugged and kissed Karkat's nose. "That's still wicked awesome of you. You're an awesome matesprit."

“I thought we agreed on Tuesday nights,” Karkat mused, scrunching up his face as John gave him another quick peck. “Either way, don’t try and butter me up via contradiction.” Despite his somewhat irate tone, Karkat leaned forward and stole another smooch from the human’s lips.

Snorting into the kiss, John broke away with a smile. "Nope, I'm sure it's the other T-day. And you are a great boyfriend, Kar. I'm a lucky douchebag." Taking a good hold on the troll's hand, John stood up and dragged Karkat along with him, taking him to the edge as John leaned back against the railing. John took his other hand and pulled his lover to him, setting Karkat’s hands on the cool iron and freeing his own to wrap around Karkat's waist. Situated, John captured his lover's lips again and gave the bottom lip a suck.

“Well then I guess I better pack all that stuff up and put it away. We can get it back out Thursday,” Karkat teased before letting John recapture his lips. Karkat’s voice rumbled softly in the back of his throat, and his hands slid down John’s lean flanks, coming to rest on his hips, loving the feeling of his lover’s soft subtle curves, so much less than what he’d expect on a woman but all the sweeter for it. Humming contentedly, Karkat smiled against  his mouth as John nipped his lip again.

John leaned back onto the railing, pulling Karkat gently until the troll leaned on him. With bodies pressed together so cozily, John almost didn't notice the chatter from across the way. He turned his head ever so slightly to see his friends gathered across the ground, assuming they were enjoying the stars as well.

“They won’t mind us,” Karkat mumbled into the corner of his matesprit’s jaw, “they’re too fucking busy getting an earful from Jade about my lousy star drawings anyway.” With a quiet rumble in his chest, he gave John’s hips a gentle squeeze with his hands, thoroughly enjoying their intimate proximity.

John peeped quietly and turned back, tilting his head down and pulling his hands back around to run over Karkat's chest. John could feel his face warm in the darkness and he sighed contently, enjoying being in his lover's grasp.

With John’s palms flattened against his chest, Karkat smiled softly to himself and decided he’d give his lover something to feel. The low rumbling grew quickly into an insectile chatter, the vibrations growing stronger through his whole ribcage. Looking up slightly, Karkat caught the other’s gaze, giving him a modest smile, showing just a hint of his slightly crooked overbite.

"Why Mr. Vantas," John smirked, eyes landing back on karkat’s face "aren't you... just..." he trailed off, stunned by the beauty before him.

It was hard to see, but the moonlight hit just right to make Karkat's fangs and golden eyes glow ominously, making John hold his breath. He couldn't help it. Karkat Vantas, despite his sometimes unattractive vulgarity and quick-to-anger nature, was one smolderingly hot troll.

“Just what?” Karkat’s question unintentionally interrupted John’s train of thought, and Karkat cocked his head a bit and furrowed his bow, vaguely curious and somewhat annoyed by John’s lack of focus.

John quickly exhaled, trying to steady himself. "Just, um..." John searched for a word, any that came close. "...you're just, um... just amazing." He crinkled his nose at the overused word, but his heart beat faster trying to think of one.

With a snort, Karkat gave him a cynical look, his dark lips twisting to the side as he eyed John skeptically. “And you’re the most imbecilic nookslurper in the vast entirety of paradox space,” Karkat kept his scrutinizing glower up for a moment longer before his brow relaxed and his expression softened. “But you’re pretty amazing too.”

"But you made all of this," John waved a hand to the glittered sky, "all of us. Everything. You're just... You're- man, what is it-?" he bit his lip, fumbling on his words. The moment had swept him away and he couldn't get a handle on himself. He leaned harder on Karkat's chest, trying to concentrate. His hands shook with the subtle vibration of his matesprit's chest and his own nerves. Dude, what was even wrong with him?

“You know the Incipisphere made all of this, right? I just fucked around with the astrocartographical customization.”  Karkat gave an indignant snort that shook in his lungs. “I’m just another asshole with an afternoon to kill and no fucking clue what the fuck he was doing.”

"Ok, but you actually put together stuff and thought about it. I wouldn't have thought to make anything like those," he again nodded to the vast collection of stars. "You're amazing, and I'm just lucky enough to be with you."

“Hey,” Karkat barked back, giving his matesprit a stern look, “what did I fucking tell you about buttering me up? So I drew some shitty pictures that ended up in you sky. So the fuck what? You can fucking fly and command the fucking air we breathe. If you wanted you could send the atmosphere off-planet and suffocate us all. You’re a fucking god, okay? If anything I’m the shmuck who’s fucking lucky you even look at him.” He gave John a quick scowl and bared his teeth, “and don’t you fucking dare try to rebuff that statement with more excuses why you’re lame and I’m not. I’m not getting into an argument where we each try to shame ourselves into pits of mediocrity while simultaneously elevating the other on a fucking pedestal. Nobody fucking wins that argument.”

There was a pause between them, followed by an irritated sigh by John. "Alright, first of all... wow. That was rough, son. Second, I wasn't saying I sucked. I rule, in fact. I'm pretty fucking badass, thank you very much." John took his hands away to slap them on either side of Karkat's face, holding his cheeks firmly. "I was saying how amazing you were because sometimes I get sick of hearing you talk bad about yourself when you do some pretty cool shit-and I swear if you say you don't I'll hit you. I swear, Vantas. You're fucking awesome and you better get used to it, because I'm not afraid to kick your ass.  Those constellations are really cool. Admit it."

Gritting his teeth, Karkat made a strangled sound of irritation before quickly biting back a scathing remark and rolling his eyes in exasperation. “Fucking fine,” he growled, “the stars are fucking dandy. Are you happy now?” Scrunching his lips to the side, the troll gave John an irate stare, thick brows knitting as he pouted.

"See, why is that hard? They're really nice, and it's even cooler because it looked hard to do, so it's more impressive. Can't I just soak in your great talent and heart, or are you gonna pour cold water on me every time?"

“You know as well as I do, Egbert, that I have my good days and my bad days,” Karkat groused, leaning away slightly and averting his gaze. “Today is not feeling like a ‘Karkat fucking feels like he has any kind of worth or has made any semblance of impact on the lives of other people other than making them slightly more miserable than they are innately’ kind of day, and frankly tomorrow’s not looking too hot either.”

"Dude, you have your bad days, and your worse days." John stood up and took a hold of Karkat, hugging him and touching his face with his own, cheek to cheek. "Look, it's date night, and that means I love you and want you to feel loved. I don't wanna do this bickering thing that one of these days I'm totally gonna win," John murmured into Karkat's ear, slightly swaying back and forth.

“Fuck,” the troll breathed, “I’m sorry, shit. I picked the most inopportune time to wallow. The stars are great. You’re great.” Karkat groaned to himself quietly, shutting his eyes and burying his face in the crook of his mate’s neck. “John, I feel so much more for you than pity,” he whispered against the boy’s shoulder, “I’m sorry you have to put up with all my existential hoofbeastshit.”

"Shhhhh, only date night tomfoolery now. No more downer talk." he smiled, patting the back of Karkat's head. Once there he even ventured a reach to one of his horns, gently squeezing the base.

The tender grip on his horn made the troll freeze up for a moment, before he quickly dug his nose into John’s shoulder. John could feel an obvious tremor course down Karkat’s spine as he inadvertently let out a hot breath against what little bare skin was exposed on John’s neck. “So you’re interested in _that_ kind of tomfoolery?”

"Well yeah. This is nice, but you did go to all that trouble," he twisted around the hard bone and smoothed his other hand against his lover's spine. "I do wanna get something to eat eventually, but after that," he smiled, nuzzling Karkat's head.

“Wait,” Karkat breathed, turning his head such that his words came in soft against John’s neck, “did you want to eat first, or not? Because I’m getting a strong bedroom vibe from the way you’re groping the fuck out of my horn.” He gave the human’s skin a quick peck before leaning back a bit and looking John in the eye. “If you’re hungry, say the word and I’m your personal chef, no matter what the fuck you’re hungry for, I’ll make it happen.”

"Oooo, I do love when you cater to me," he smirked. "What did you have in mind?"

“Did I not just get done fucking telling you I’d feed you anything your putrid little maggot-infested human bloodpusher desired?” Karkat quickly barked back. “I even worked in the appropriate amount of innuendo in case you were actually hungry for food or just kidding around and insinuating a desire of a concupiscent romp.”

"No, I'm actually starving here, and I kinda just need a sandwich, but that's not sexy in the least. So I was thinking you might, like, surprise me? You're actually a pretty good cook."

“Alright then,” Karkat replied after some consideration, “let’s head to the culinary preparation block and I’ll get started. Unless of course you want a real surprise, in which case you won’t get to watch me cook.” Karkat snorted and gave John a quick shrug, “up to you.”

"Damn," John hissed. "I like watching you... but I do love surprises. What ever would I do with myself while I waited, Kar?" Having abandoned the horn for the time being, his fingers delve into the troll's course hair.

“Whatever the fuck you want.” Karkat snorted back, giving his matesprit a smirk. “I’ve got an idea that’ll be done in fifteen minutes if you can busy yourself for that long.” He paused, leaning in to steal a quick peck against John’s cheek. “Meet me in the dining block in twenty?”

"Sounds good," John said, letting go of him only to grab his hands. "Hey, I just wanna say thanks. This is really nice, Karkat."

“You know I love doing shit for you,” Karkat replied with a knowing look, “I’d fold my spine in half bending over backwards for you. Now scram so I can fucking get to work, you spoiled asshole.”

With one last peck John was off, running back to the edge of the balcony and hopping over the rail. He kicked his foot against the side of the building, taking off and letting his godteir powers take over. He sailed over the complex, slicing through the chilled air. He decided that a good fly around the planet, or at least the familiar parts, could consume at least fifteen minutes. He let the current dictate his path, swaying up and down and twisting when the breeze tumbled. Man it was great to fly. It was just him and Karkat's stars, and John soon flew belly up, staring at the cosmic wonders as he cruised at a safe altitude.

Before he let the trip take him, he set an alarm on his phone, that way it would mark his halfway point and he could turn around when it went off.

Sure enough, as he was passing another established clearing he heard the aggressive chime and flipped over himself, taking off back for base. His route back was closer to the ground, making it more interesting with his maneuver tests he set for himself. He darted through trees and brushed long grass blades with his hands, skimming the creeks and riding the hills as close as he dared. Before he knew it he was back, shouting a ‘hey’ to his friends below, still lying around enjoying the evening. He entered through the main front, greeting the ghostly feline who had decided to remain indoors.

The warm aroma of Karkat’s cooking gained increasing prevalence the closer he got to the kitchen. John quickly glided through the room, making sure it was empty before proceeding on to the dining room. As he drifted in through the door left slightly ajar, the scene before him brought a wide grin to the human’s face. The actual dining room had several tables of varying sizes as not everyone ate together all the time. Karkat had set the smallest table for two; good china, a fancy table cloth, even a candle in the middle. The plates were piled high with what appeared to be toasted ravioli smothered in red sauce and sprinkled with dried spices. Karkat stood back, and silently pulled out a chair for John, giving him a smile that said he knew he’d done well.

John bit his lip, keeping his smile under control. It was a vastly cheesy scene, but it was also enormously romantic, so he suppressed a snort well as he sat down and let Karkat scoot him in. "Ok, this is stupid amazing. But for real, I'm gonna have to murder this meal. I haven't eaten since like... ten this morning? Nine? But this looks super delicious."

“Why the fuck did you skip lunch?” Karkat questioned as he sat himself across from John. “If Jade’s got you working yourself to the bone, just shoot me a message and I will bring you something to eat.” He gave John a look of concern before taking his first bite and chewing thoughtfully.

John had already popped a hot pasta pocket into his mouth, refusing to let it cool. He had a chaser of water before answering. "Ok, I got busy so I forgot. And then after I was done Jade took me out to hang so I didn't even think about it. But now that you say that, lunch from you sounds hella good. I'm really getting sick of just ramen and sandwiches." He quickly took another forkful and devoured it.

“I’m not your lusus, John,” Karkat replied, pointing the tines of his fork threateningly at the human, “but I will get on your ass about this shit. You can’t just forget food.” Twisting his mouth to the side, the troll gave him another skeptical look before taking another bite. “If Jade gets you working too hard again, you let me know and I will become the fangbeast huntmaster protecting his grub.”

"Nah, it's not that. I just get into my stuff and forget. I mean, there's only so much I can help, so when she gets me a project, I just kinda pour myself in. Man, you'd think she was the leader here instead of us, huh?" John gobbled some more of his dinner, but took his time now that the hunger pains had stopped. The flavor was spectacular, well-seasoned, well cooked, and filling.

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about,” Karkat retorted with a grunt. “Jade may be a fucking certifiable genus, but brainpower without direction or order is unpredictable and dangerous. I’m pretty fucking sure without you or I around to keep her on a short leash she’d have become some sort of mad scientist by now.”

"Well I've been more a scout than a leader here lately, and you two actually have a game plan. And she is one, by the way."

“So much for alleged human sibling loyalty,” Karkat scoffed, stirring another ravioli in the sauce before taking a bite. “And here I thought you and Jade were all kinds of tight now after you scrambled down off the Yellow Yard and got over your desperate need for some non-Jade company.”

"Oh no, we're good. I'm just teasing. Don't tell her," John added before filling his mouth again. Soon John was down to one ravioli, and he stared at it before pushing it around on his plate.

“Damn, John,” Karkat snorted, “it’s a good thing you told me. You see, I’m just the biggest snitch when it comes to all of your completely fucking inconsequential, trivial gossip. There’s nothing I like more than to gab about all the slanderous shit you call your ectosister when she’s out of furry earshot.” The troll eyed John across the small table and gave him a snarky smirk through smugly half-lidded eyes.

"Well you two have been working so hard together; I figured you'd devolved into that kind of small talk. Can't keep your nose to the grindstone all the time."

“You’re right,” Karkat quipped back, “I’ve got literally nothing better to talk about with a fucking astronomer, nuclear engineer, and robotics expert. Contrary to popular belief, not everything is about you, nookmunch.” With a victorious snort, he purposefully gulped down another piece of pasta.

"Well I didn't say that, Karkat, I just... never mind." He stabbed into the soft meat filled pocket and drowned it. "I’m sorry. Of course you still have a million things to talk about and you two have the grandest and deepest of conversations, not like us peasants who talk about nothing interesting at all."

“Oh shut up, John,” Karkat sighed, putting his fork down and giving his matesprit a long look. “You know very fucking well I am giving you the least serious hard time in the history of the universe.”

"Oh no, Mr. Vantas, excuse me for insulting your intellectual conversations with one of the smartest of us all. How dare I insinuate you had anything less than brilliant talks of the universe and all of its workings, dwarfing any other words spoken by other philosophers and scientists. My apologies."

If Karkat had been rolling his eyes any more they might have been in danger of rolling right out of his skull. “Yeah, sure. I’m a real toll Einstein.” he put his elbow on the table and propped his chin up in his hand, giving John a heavily sarcastic look.

"Well wasn't it you who said you didn't have time for pleasantries of talking about juicy gossip around the office? Nooo, you were too busy chatting up Jade Harley and discussing the wonders of the universe. I'm even humbled by your presence. Too bad I'm too dumb to have sat in on that smart talk. It was a good thing I haven't been working that close with your two, or my poor little brain might have gotten fried by the sheer awesomeness of your conversations. I am truly a lucky man to be alive today."

“Okay,” Karkat sighed, squeezing the center of his brow between his thumb and forefinger, “your playful dinner banter is starting to veer away from playful territory and drift dangerously close to passive-aggressive waters.” He gave John an analytical glance as his fingers moved to pinch the bridge of his nose. “The lines are starting to blur,” he muttered, “are you still joking around, or are you actually mad?”

"I think Dave's rubbing off on me. I think a day or two apart might be in order." John finished off his dinner, wiping the corner of his mouth and setting this napkin aside. "I'm sorry, Karkat. I kinda didn't mean any of that."

“It’s fine,” the troll replied, letting his hands fall to his lap, “you had me worried I’d really said something that had gotten under your skin. I’d rather not fuck up enough to make you legitimately mad, especially when we have plans for the evening.” He stole a quick glance up at John, searching hopefully for a sign that his matesprit was still interested in the aforementioned plans.

John pulled his lips in and bit, nodding happily. "I say it's safe to set this stuff to the side for now. In fact," He motioned to the now dirty dishes, the bowls and silverware disappearing. "There. I'll pull them back out later and wash them. Now," he smiled, "let’s go see what you've got in store for me."

“Hey, I didn’t have any specific plans,” Karkat defended as he stood up from the table, “I just figured I owed it to you to fucking set the scene.”  Turning his eyes away, he discretely worried the corner of his lip with one tooth. “Well, I guess not so much that I owed it to you as you just kind of deserved it. I thought maybe I could set the scene and you could write the story.”

"Sounds fun enough," John smiled, reaching out across the table and laying a hand on the crisp cloth. "You really put a lot into this, didn't you? I'm gonna have a tough time topping it next week."

Karkat shrugged, leaning forward and placing his palm over the back of John’s extended hand. “Who ever said you had to top it? This is a relationship, not a fucking competition.” Karkat lowered his eyes and gave his matesprit a wily smirk, “besides. You and I both know I’m the romantic master and have earned my rightful fucking place atop the throne as king of date-night.”

"Be that as it may, I have to hold up my end of the couple and not slack off. And thanks to you I have it tougher than others, seeing as I have to match his royal majesty Love King. But you're right. I bow at your feet."

“But where’s the fun in it without a little fucking challenge? Would you rather let your talents go to waste?” Karkat gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “As the honorable matesprit of his royal majesty love king guru master, you bow to no one.” It was honestly difficult for Karkat to keep a straight face saying that; it was likely among the cheesiest lines he’d ever given. “Now get up, I’ll escort you to the royal suite.”

"Oooo I love the sound of that. As you wish, your highness." John took back his hand for long enough to stand, then grabbed Karkat's hand again. It might have been lame, but the act of holding hands was getting to be natural for him, and he had finally convinced his boyfriend that it wasn't awkward to do so, even in public.

Karkat gave John a sideways glance and a slight smile before giving his lover’s hand a quick squeeze and a gentle tug as he led the way back to their shared bedroom. When the final door slid open and shut behind them, the room was just as John remembered; a little on the unkempt side, unlit candles and a few stray flower petals scattering the room, and his ghost blanket thrown awkwardly over his bed in a half-assed attempt to hid the new silk sheets underneath. John smiled and released Karkat to saunter to the bedside, halfway sitting on the mattress.

With a sheepish grin, the troll took his time shuffling around the room, lighting each candle quickly, even singing his fingers on the match a couple of times in his clumsy haste. Ignoring the minor burns, Karkat dimmed the overhead lights, giving prominence to the soft glow of the flickering candles. Turning back towards the human, still perched on the corner of the bed and watching with curiosity, he smiled, putting one hand on John’s shoulder and giving his matesprit’s cheek a soft peck. With that, Karkat grabbed the edge of John’s blanket and pulled it off the bed, a small cascade of petals following and fluttering to the ground, leaving the bed dressed in soft blue and grey silk and what few petals still remained.

"Fancy," John whispered, running the silk through his fingers. "Ok, after this you're gonna share those codes with me and how you go them. This is awesome." John took a hold of Karkat's sweater and pulled him in, sealing their lips fervently. "You did good."

Resting one palm in the soft sheets, the other found a perch on his mate’s hip as Karkat moved into the kiss. When their lips separated, he leaned away and gave John a half-lidded look. “I thought you might like it. According to Kanaya, we used to have an analogue on Alternia, but it was extremely rare; hard to get your fingers on material like this unless you had connections in violet places.”

"Double fancy then. This is like ridiculously soft." John ran his palm over the bed, the sheets glistening in the pale light. With a devious grin John pulled harder at the sweater, laying back and dragging the troll on top of him.

The smile fleeing his expression, Karkat leaned in and planted his lips against John’s kissing him gently and trailing a hand down the human’s flank. His mouth moved softly against his matesprit’s, while his free hand caressed the soft silk beside John’s head. After an intimate moment, Karkat leaned away slightly and hummed. “You know, we could feel more of the new sheets if we weren’t wearing anything.”

"Well let's get to it," John smirked back, sliding his hands under Karkat's sweater, his usual way of de-clothing his lover. Karkat's skin was as warm and dry as ever, tougher hide than his own, and his palms slid over it easily.

A soft string of chirrups rumbled in the pit of the troll’s chest as he leaned back slightly, allowing John to slide the sweater off his back. When his chest was fully bare, he leaned in and gave his matesprit’s jaw a quick peck before mimicking John’s action and slipping his hands up John’s stomach, pushing his shirt up with them.

Wriggling to help his boyfriend get him out, John sighed happily as rough fingers drug along his abdomen, chest, and collarbone until he had to remove his hood. He helped finish it off and tossed it dramatically away, recapturing his boyfriend by hugging his neck and pulling him back down for another round of smooching.

With a smile, Karkat reciprocated with a soft chirp, pressing both elbows into the sheets on either side of John’s head and bowing his neck to devour John’s mouth. Karkat’s voice rumbled low in the back of his throat as he gingerly nibbled on John’s lower lip, tugging at the soft skin with his teeth. Karkat moved to straddle one of his matesprit’s thighs, resting one knee between the other’s legs; as he shifted over John, the sheets rustled like an intimate whisper.

John whined happily as sharp teeth carefully gnawed him, his tongue licking Karkat’s top lip in response. John's hands had found a roost at his grub scars, fingering the twisted flesh. John turned his head and dove deeper into his lover's mouth, sharing breath for a moment before moaning into the other's maw.

With a soft groan, Karkat arched his back forward until their bellies touched, rough skin grazing soft as he folded under the influence of the human’s fingers. Shivering and letting a series of clicks rattle his throat, he quickly slipped John his tongue, boldly licking the roof of his mouth before moving in to tangle with John’s muscle.

John worked his jaw against his partners, concentrating more on his hands. He remembered the sensitivity of his scars, so to be safe he started scratching between them, the grey skin fading to white under his nails.

Sparks of pressure and pleasure tingled under his skin, and Karkat groaned as he delved hungrily into the other’s mouth. Breath ragged and shoulders shaking slightly Karkat shifted, inching his knee up between John’s legs until his thigh was pressed firmly against John’s groin.  His own hips twitched, and he gasped into his matesprit’s mouth.

John's eyes were shut tightly by now, his junk being lovingly ground on. To return the favor, John bent his knee until he too bumped into Karkat's crotch. His fingertips had started massaging the red flesh, pulling and pushing at the knotted sinews.

Karkat chirruped again into John’s air as he filled his mouth with his eager tongue while his hips shivered against John’s thigh. His spine bowed and arched to the will of John’s digits as he dug gently into the exposed, sensitive flesh.  A bold hand began to feel its way down from the silk sheets over John’s shoulder and collarbone, across his shuddering chest and down his abs, fingertips strumming across ribs and muscles. Karkat’s hand only stopped at the hem of his pants to squeeze at the soft dip of his hip, before following the crease between his hip and thigh to gently palm John’s growing member though the layers of fabric.

Whining breathlessly into their kiss, John’s fingers dug into his lover's flanks, his knee hitching up too quickly.

Karkat swallowed a sharp gasp and nearly bit down on his own tongue, his hand trembling against the lump in John’s pants, barely managing to keep himself from squeezing it too tightly. Karkat pulled back with a groan, taking a moment to catch his breath before looking to his matesprit’s face and meeting his eyes.

“Eager, I see,” he panted, doing his best to muster a smirk.

"Sorry," John squeaked, letting go of his sides to flop his hands back on the bed. "I'm sorry Karkat, are you ok?" John smoothed a hand on the waistband of Karkat's sweats, his other wiping his eyes from under his glasses.

“Yeah,” Karkat managed to say as he shifted his hips slightly, reassuring that there wasn’t anything bruised yet. “I don’t think I’m out enough to warrant any kind of permanent damage. Lucky you.” That time there was an obvious smirk, and Karkat purposefully palmed his matesprit’s package. Bowing his head, Karkat gave John’s jaw a quick kiss before nibbling his way down the warm skin of his throat.

"Nnnn, Kar," John whispered, gasping as his lover squeezed him gently. His hand held firm onto Karkat's waist, using him as an anchor as he gingerly lifted his hips, pressing into the warm hand. "What... what are we doing? Like, positions and stuff?"

“You tell me,” Karkat rasped back, lips against John’s clavicle, “like I said, I set the scene, you gotta write the story.” His eyes turned up and locked with John’s; they were dark in the half-light, but still bright flecks of red caught the glow of candle light and added a piercing quality to the troll’s irises. “So how about instead, you tell me what you want from me and I’ll make it happen?”

The way Karkat's eyes bore through him reminded John of a predator's glare, and it was terrifying and hot all at once. John tried to swallow and came up dry, wondering if this of all times would be the right time. "Um, ok," he stammered, "...how do you feel about trying something... different?"

“Yeah?” Karkat asked with a quick raise of his brow and a slight smirk that showed just the points of his teeth. His hips shifted side to side slightly in John’s grip, as he continued to stare John down with gradually increasing amusement. “What were you thinking? I’m fucking yours to command.”

With the troll still acting like a carnivore toying with its prey, John started gnawing his lip, looking over to his trunk. He looked back to his lover, seeing those intent eyes locked on him, eager to please and tease, and he sighed loudly. "Ok… there's something in my trunk. Go get it for me?"

Karkat paused for a moment, letting his eyes dark over to the chest curiously before returning to John as he gave him a quick nod and a quiet hum. Leaning back on his knees, he towered over John, who lay flat on his back, for a moment before stepping down off the bed and making his way over towards the trunk. Flipping the latch, Karkat glanced over his shoulder at his matesprit, eyes eager and curious before he turned back to the magic chest and lifted the lid. “You want to tell me what the fuck I’m actually looking for?”

"Um, I think you'll know. It's pretty obvious..." John sighed, putting his hands over his eyes. He still couldn't believe the gag gift given in obvious ironic praise for the new sex life by the knight of irony himself was actually going to see the light, let alone be used.

Scratching his head, just behind one horn, the troll grunted and started digging around through the various and sundry contents of the trunk. There was the metal pail they used most times they were intimate; he went ahead and withdrew that particular item, setting it aside for the time being before going back to rummaging. He’d shoved most of the larger items aside when something unfamiliar caught his eye. Picking it up, Karkat stood back up, but didn’t shut the lid, just in case he’d grabbed the wrong thing. At first glance it looked unassuming enough, a five inch long blue cylinder with a rounded tip and soft rubber skin. “You mean this?” He held up the item for John to inspect, turning and watching for his matesprit’s reaction.

John uncovered his face and adjusted his specks, sitting up to look. He nodded his head furiously, sucking in his lips and trying not to get flustered. When Karkat continued to inspect it and pressed the button at the flat end of the vibrator, it began humming and the buzzing made Karkat glare at the device.

Karkat returned to the bed, sitting on the edge next to his matesprit and turning the vibrator to different angles in his fingers, scrutinizing it as it hummed softly. Finally giving up with a grunt, he held out the item out to John, trying to pass it off. “I don’t get it. What the fuck is it even supposed to do?”

"It just vibrates, Karkat," John said, taking the toy into his own hand. He smiled at the contraption, like it was more like a precious present than a gag gift. Dave may have been joking on the outside, but John wanted to believe he actually cared and wanted him to be happy. So now that he was more comfortable with it, he could actually appreciate the gesture from Strider. "It feels good. If you want," he looked up with an innocent look, "I can show you."

The expression made Karkat’s mouth go dry, and with a quiet groan he swallowed hard and nodded. He wasn’t entirely sure what it was about the look John had given him, but his bloodpusher did a back flip when his matesprit looked up at him with flushed skin, mussed hair, skewed glasses, and gentle sincerity. Karkat quickly licked his lips, feeling the ache of want pull him to lean forward just a bit more, anticipating and eager.

John took Karkat's closest shoulder and pulled him more onto the bed until they eventually knelt facing each other. John turned the vibrator back on and letting it buzz between his fingers. His free hand grasped at the base of Karkat's neck, holding the back of his head and brushing the shorter hairs of his nape. John pulled Karkat to his mouth, giving him a warm, moist kiss as he pressed the toy to Karkat’s chest, letting it bounce against his skin for a few seconds.

His eyes falling closed, Karkat let the feeling of the soft vibrations resonate in his ribcage, and after a moment responded with a quiet clicking. He did his best to mimic the feeling by making his own noise, the humming and buzzing shifting in and out of phase as Karkat struggled to keep up with the toy’s frequency.

John smirked at the attempt and continued traveling. He trailed it along his abdomen, and his smile grew as Karkat slouched and withdrew from the sensation. John kissed his lover's jaw and snickering into his ear, moving even further down. He finally reached Karkat's pants and pressed the jiggling device between his legs, even leaning in to press his own groin to Karkat's to trap the toy between them. He sighed through his nose, his lips quivering against his matesprit’s.

A quiet whine escaped Karkat’s lips as the vibrator buzzed against his bonebulge, coaxing his bulge from its sheath more quickly than he was used to. His active sex bunched up in the front of his pants, writhing and contorting for contact with the source of the sensation, but also twisting uncomfortably against taught fabric. Karkat discretely chewed on his lower lip, trying to fight the urge for his hips to jerk forward. “Okay. I’m starting to see the fucking appeal,” he breathed against John’s cheek.

"Are you?" He hummed back playfully, pushing in his hips more to the other's and groaning. He gripped the nape hairs between his fingers, gasping as he pressed his cheek to Karkat's. "Uuuhh, so good," he whispered, his hips rolling.

“Mmm, fuck,” the troll groaned in response, hips shuddering as the toy stimulated him all the way through two layers of fabric. Karkat’s hands trembled and clumsily groped down the human’s flanks before finally finding purchase on John’s hips. He breathed heavily against the curve of his matesprit’s jaw and when he spoke, his voice was shaky and winded. “Fuck, John. Can we get rid of these damn pants already?”

"I don't see what you're waiting on," John moaned back, nuzzling him. John leaned away, the stimulation vanishing, but not to leave him completely, John sealed their lips while tugging at the elastic of his sweats. With eyes closed, humming into the kiss, he blindly started stripping Karkat, hoping he'd catch the hint.

With a brief nod, Karkat leaned back slightly and shimmied his hips to help his matesprit tug the hems down. At the same time, he tucked his thumbs in under both the waistband of John’s pants and his boxers, giving the fabric a quick jerk, and forcing them down a few inches. Tilting his head slightly, Karkat pressed his parted lips against John’s neck, letting hot, needy breaths fan against his soft skin.

Turning off and setting aside the vibrator, John's hands came to either side of Karkat's head, holding him, keeping him there. He soaked up the pure intimacy, John's head leaned to rest on his boyfriend's, his torso swaying gently as he was de-clothed, leaving him exposed and kneeling in a puddle of his garments.

 Karkat only shifted slightly, loving the way his matesprit held him affectionately close. With minimal disturbance, Karkat was able to wriggle out of his sweatpants and briefs, haphazardly shoving the clothes off the bed such that he kneeled in the soft silk, intimately exposed and shivering with excitement. Crouching forward, Karkat let his palms slide across the luxurious sheets as he leaned in to press his lips against John’s jaw.

John turned his head with the kiss and whined quietly, his fingers disappearing into coarse, black hair. Fingertips found their way to rounded horns, and massaged the flesh around them. "Oh Karkat," he whispered, clenching his teeth and leaning his body back as the alien continued to push against him slowly letting Karkat lean over him.

Crouching over the human, Karkat pushed himself up between John’s legs, one hand groping for the toy until his fingers brushed smooth rubber. Smirking against John’s jaw, he began to avidly press his lips against his matesprit’s exposed neck, lavishing it in roguish affection while he fumbled for the button on the device to turn it on again. When the vibrator hummed with success, Karkat gave John’s throat a playful nip before moving the buzzing toy to his groin, laying it flat against the underside of John’s cock, just brushing the base against his balls.

John cried out and clenched Karkat's horns, his legs bending back as far as they could comfortably go. He shook and muttered, his head having fallen back so he could try and catch his breath. "Gahhh KAarkaaaa nnnnnmmmmm! Shit wait, I nnnNN!" Too late he realized he had leaned too far and his legs screamed, making him fall back and fling his legs out. He landed back against the silk bedding, petals tossed into the air.

“Fuck, John,” Karkat gasped, setting the vibrator down again and leaning forward with a worried expression, one hand resting nervously on his matesprit’s thigh. “Fuck, are you okay? Did I go too fast?” Karkat’s brow furrowed and shot a concerned look at the toy, worried now that its powerful, vibrating witchcraft would prove too potent to be effectively harnessed.

John laughed and patted Karkat's cheek. "Yeah, it was just the position. I'm not very flexible, sorry." He sighed and laid back, a sheepish grin struggling to cover his embarrassment. "It's ok now. I'm sorry."

Worrying his bottom lip between his teeth, Karkat grunted softly, his ears flicking nervously. “Shut up, assface,” he mumbled, anxiety starting to compound now that he’d had the opportunity to fuck up and royally seized it. Crawling forward again, Karkat gave him an apologetic look before he glanced back to the vibrator, fingers touching it warily. He hesitated this time before picking it up, holding it thoughtfully and glancing up at John again for reaffirmation.

John looked at the toy, staring at it in contemplation. He knew he wanted it back for them to play with, but as long as he was allowed to make demands... "I know this is a new thing, but as long as we're, um... trying new things...?" John's eye found Karkat's, pegging him the question.

Karkat shifted, his eyes darting between John and the toy before training on the human’s inquisitive look. Tilting his head to the side, Karkat followed the question with his own curious hum as if to prompt John to elaborate, eyebrows raising with interest.

"Ok like... maybe you can do that thing that I do and ok don't look at me like that," John huffed, pushing Karkat's face to one side, "this is hard ok?! It's weird asking for sexy things. Hmmm ok, I want to- quit growling. I'm trying here." With his hand still plastered to Karkat's cheek, the troll obviously unamused, John pouted and threw his head back. "Gahhhh can you do me? Like you, in me? There, I said it!"

“You’re right, that was _real_ sexy,” Karkat chuckled with half-lidded eyes before the words actually began to absorb into his thinkpan. His expression quickly shifted from smug to surprised, however, when what John had asked for sunk in and took full effect. He swallowed, mouth having run dry. “Are you sure?” His brows raised again, his face some mixture of hope and morbid curiosity, “I mean I know we’ve been talking about it, but tonight?”

John sighed and lowered his head back down, fixing his glasses. "I mean, I've been... working on it, and I just thought... Is it too much? I can wait if you want, I just thought maybe." He looked at the blue device and took it from the other's grasp, turning it over in his hand. "I don't know, I mean I know I want to try, like eventually at least. Maybe I'm rushing because it's hard to ask. Since we already have this. But, I have been, ya know... working on it. By myself. I don't know, it's just hard to ask you, Karkat."

Nipping at his own lip and groaning, Karkat closed his eyes a moment and let that though process a little before looking back and John and replying. “Wow. Fuck, John. That is _really_ hot.” Before John could answer back, he bent down and gave his matesprit’s collarbone an enticing nibble. “If you think you’re up for it, we can definitely try.” With a soft growl, his lips trailed back up John’s neck before kissing the joint of his jaw. “But first thing’s first. Let me try this again.” With no further warning, Karkat laid the vibrator flat against John’s cock again as he had before, letting it hum against the heated flesh.

Without the chance to retort or prepare, John gripped at a combination of sheets and troll flesh, a shoulder he thought. John groaned loudly and bowed his back. Karkat had his hand wrapped around his member, keeping the toy flush with him and vibrating his whole length. The pressure and tingling made him short for words, but not of noises, whimpering and moaning pitifully as he got a handle on his situation.

“What if I just…” Karkat murmured mostly to himself, licking his lips before shuffling forward a bit more, pressing his own thighs up underneath John’s. With his free hand, he gently held his own coiling bulge and carefully coaxed it around John’s cock and the vibrator together. Attempting to swallow a heavy groan only backfired, making Karkat let out a shrill moan as his bulge squeezed possessively at John’s dick and the humming toy. “O-oh fuck!”

"Ahhh Karkaaaah! Mmmmph shit oh god.... Nnnn!" John reeled as the tentacle squeezed harder to try to keep a hold of such a large load, his manhood and the toy all at once. John's head was already weeping, adding to an already dripping alien sex. He could only pant and throw his hand to his face, biting on his wrist for a brace and gag.

Karkat’s back bowed until his forehead rested against John’s shoulder and he breathed hot and heavy against his clavicle. He shivered and groaned as the vibrations trembled through his skin and muscle and hummed down the connections of sensitive nerves, lighting up his neural network with a constant supply of pleasure. Karkat’s hips rocked involuntarily, and his bulge slipped slightly, allowing the vibrator to migrate down in the muscle’s slick grasp until the base of the toy was resting between John’s balls and the top of the troll’s nook. The sensation elicited another impulsive buck from Karkat, and he moaned wantonly against John’s skin, breathing in the ether of his musk and sweat and wanting John coming across loud and clear on his every sense.

John fought the instinctive urge to hold himself, the direction of stimulation out of his control. Without holding the toy himself, he was victim to whatever naturally happened, and he leaned his head to Karkat's. His hand was freed from his mouth to cup Karkat's crown, combing his fingers though course hair while his other held tight to his shoulder as their hips rocked together.

"Ahhhh," he gasped as Karkat humped again, intensifying for a moment the vibration and grip on his cock. "Oh Karkat, I- mmm!"

“John,” Karkat moaned in response, “oh fuck, John,” shivering and grinding his hips against his matesprit’s if for no other reason than on instinct alone. The toy sent tremors of bliss surging up his spine until every muscle in his body felt weak, and his breaths grew shallow. “Fuck, fuck,” he gasped against John’s neck, shuddering and gripping him tight, “fuck, I can f-fucking feel… f-feel it all the way in my… my oh fuck! My fucking nook.”

"Y-yeah?" he muttered, closing his eyes as he smashed his nose into Karkat's head and fought through another wave of tingling pleasure. "Mmm Karkat, you wanna p-put ah!... Karkat, you caannnnnnnN!! Oh shit. Karkat!"

Karkat shivered, and bucked, and breathed hot and heavy against John’s skin at the very thought, a groan rolling in his voice as his mouth found the edge of John’s jaw. “Oh fuck, John, r-really? Fuuuuuck… yeah, let’s try that.” He leaned back enough to see his matesprit’s pleasure-tortured face; eyes squeezed shut and hairline already damp with sweat. Reluctantly, Karkat forced himself to push away farther, unwilling to move his hips far enough for his bulge to release John’s cock and the toy, but enough to put some space between their hips. “Ohhhh, John,” he closed his eyes in bliss for a moment before looking down at his matesprit with fresh desire. “John, I wa-want you to do it.”

"Huh?" John whined, cracking open an eye. But when he glanced down and saw where they were connected, he understood and reached between them. He groaned as he peeled away the pulsing bulge and fished away the vibrator, he smiled as he rewrapped Karkat's bulge around his own. It squeezed him hard, looking for the vibration but settled for the warm brace of John's cock. With the toy still buzzing in his hand, now dripping with red goo, John took the moment to catch his breath.

Panting and swallowing hard as he watched the human intently, Karkat fought for control of his own breathing. He was hot, his eyes were heavy, and his mind was completely fuck-drunk to the point of spinning. With an unintentionally needy whine, Karkat bowed forward and placed a wet, open-mouthed kiss against John’s lips, not even waiting for an invitation before pushing in and grinding tongue on tongue. Karkat groaned into the kiss as his fingers dug into the silk sheets and he gave John’s lower lip an urgent nip.

John crinkled his nose, wanting air more than more action. As much as he loved Karkat, it was getting awfully hot between them, and the sheets began clinging to his now moist back. So he looked down and placed the vibrator against Karkat's thigh, working his way back in until he found the underside of his bulge, settling in the crevice of his nook.

Karkat broke away from the aggressive kiss as his whole body shuddered from pelvis to shoulders. Biting his lips, Karkat did his best to keep his voice under control, but an eager warble broke through his only line of defense as his hips bucked demandingly against the humming toy. Abandoning the prospect of smooching his matesprit, he instead buried his face in John’s shoulder, muffling his lusty sounds against his damp skin.

Taking an easy breath, John smiled and patted the back of his mate’s head, prodding the toy around until he felt it slip inside. He was careful not to force it in, but with Karkat's reaction he knew he was in the right spot.

While the troll on top of John shuddered and whined into John’s shoulder, his bulge was busy squeezing and coiling more than eagerly around his cock. The muscular appendage wriggled and stretched itself up to curl just over the tip before shrinking back and grabbing firmly at the base. Slick, translucent red fluid was already trickling down from both of Karkat’s sexes and slicking over John’s hips and running down between his thighs. The scarlet material dripped hot, wet trails over his balls and down the central part of his rear. Karkat was beyond the use of words, and his nook twitched and clenched around the vibrator.

John just bit his lip and laid his head back onto the pillow, slowly churning his hand into his boyfriend. He could feel the limit of the troll's nook as it pressed to the back of him, then would slip in and out as their members rubbed together. "Mmmm, this is so good," John whispered, hissing happily as another motion of his hand made his bulge clench again, lathering him up.

“Nnnnnnnn, fuuuuuuuck,” Karkat whined into the crook of John’s neck as he pushed the toy in to the hilt, brushing the back of his nook and stimulating everything in between. His breaths came in uneven and ragged against John’s flushed skin, and another wave of pleasure surged up his spine. As his nook trembled under John’s influence, his bulge writhed and slipped up to squeeze at the pink head of his matesprit’s dick. “Do you… fuck…” he gasped against John’s neck, “do you want to t-try it too? In… y-you?”

John contemplated the thought, judging how things were going and the endless possibilities of what could be. He did remember his plea earlier, but this right now was fantastic, Karkat writhing in his hands. It almost made him jealous, the way he was almost lost in the pleasure. "Try your fingers," John groaned, "... mmm, I wanna start s-small."

With a grunt of understanding, Karkat lifted a hand and placed it on the human’s thigh, but his fingers were trembling against the warm skin and when another surge of pleasure wracked his spine, he gripped John’s leg tightly. “F-fuck. I don’t… John… I… fuck… s-stop. I can’t if you d-don’t stop…”

John slowed his hand and eventually retrieved the vibrator, turning it off. He quickly put his hand on Karkat's chest before he started anything new. "Hang on Kar.... just a minute, please." John laid back his arms and closed his eyes, basking in warmth around him and the constriction still around his cock. Sighing breathlessly, he took off his glasses and set them aside, not really able see through them anyway. "Shit, Karkat."

As he started to come down from the elevated level of pleasure, the troll gradually regained control of his breathing and battled his shaking muscles into stillness. The erratic writhing and clenching of his bulge slowed as well, until the sex moved with slow, rhythmic coiling. Back bending, Karkat leaned over and placed a caring kiss to his mate’s sweaty cheek, moving one hand to affectionately comb John’s damp hair away from his face. “That was fucking great,” Karkat murmured before pecking his cheek again. “Fucking love you.”

"Glad you liked it," John huffed back, puffing a quick wisp of air to his face. "If I knew that... I would have pulled it out sooner. I thought... you'd think I was a perv... or something." John lightly laughed and wiped his temple, then rubbed his knuckle against his matesprit's cheek, smiling when he got a kiss to that too. "Maybe... we should move... or something? I need to quit laying here, or move. I dunno..."

“Do what you need to,” Karkat mumbled, sitting back on his heels with a shaky sigh, “I may need a minute myself.” Combing his fingers through his hair and scratching at the base of his right horn, Karkat forced his shoulders to relax. “Fuck. How did you not think to pull that out before?” He let out a breathy chuckle and sighed, “damn, Egbert. I don’t think I’ve ever unsheathed so fast in all my fucking life.”

Moaning lightly, John reached between them and prodded his boyfriend's bulge, coaxing it to relax and passed it from his throbbing dick to his fingers. The sex clenched around him as he brushed it with his thumb. "It was a present to me, and I thought you'd think I was gross or something. I thought it was gross for a while until I actually used it. Now I'm ok with it."

Chuckling slightly, Karkat shook his head and bit his lip, groaning softly as John rubbed him with the soft pad of his thumb. “Fuck, John,” he mumbled with a sigh, “you used that shit without me? Damn.” He scrunched his eyes shut, gnawing at his bottom lip and twitching his hips as John gently fondled him in his fingers. “Selfish brat.”

Narrowing his eyes to glare at the troll, John screwed his mouth to the side. "Whatever, asshole. You thought the whole thing was weird to begin with, so shut up. Just be glad I'm a kid that actually shares his toys." With that he waved the vibrator at Karkat.

“Yeah,” he murmured, hunching over and pressing a light kiss to John’s sternum, ears flicking forward as he looked up at John through thick bangs and eyelashes. “I’m the luckiest troll in paradox space. As far as I know, I’m the only iteration of Karkat who managed to get it right.”

John smirked and brushed Karkat’s course, dark hair from his eyes, letting his hand linger to caress his jaw. "So now what? I'm trying to think how this would be easiest," he said, scanning their bodies in hopes of thinking of the right position. "Maybe if I flip over? What do you think?"

“If that’s what you want,” Karkat murmured, letting his eyes fall closed and leaning into the light touch of his matesprit’s fingers against his face. “I’m all yours, just tell me what to do. I’m putty in your hands.” He turned his head and lifted a hand to hold John’s wrist as he pressed a gentle kiss to the human’s palm. “Tell me how to please you.”

"Ok, that's by far the corniest and hottest thing you've ever said," John smiled, curling his captured fingers to poke the troll's nose, keeping this soft sight of Karkat in front of him as long as he could. But eventually he felt a chill brush his chest, a good sign that he needed to rekindle their romp. He tugged gently on the alien bulge until its limit, whispering that he needed to have his hand back.

With a compliant growl Karkat released his hold on John’s wrist, but not before giving the hand one last affectionate kiss. “I know cliché movie tropes get your rocks off,” he murmured, leaning back slightly and reaching down to John’s hairline, tucking a stray lock of jet-black hair behind his ear and trailing his fingers down the defined muscle of John’s throat. Karkat traced his blunted nails over John’s clavicle and down the seam of his sternum before letting his hand slip off into the silk sheets.

John stifled a happy moan and concentrated on getting back his other hand. The bulge was reluctant to loosen its hold too, but he somehow managed to detangle himself and snatch away his fingers before it contracted on itself. With that John looked around himself and settled for flipping, laying out with his elbow propping him up. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled lazily at his matesprit. "I think this'll work."

With a soft hum, Karkat leaned forward, crouching over John, warm skins occasionally brushing together until Karkat finally settled in with his belly against the curve of John’s spine and his hips to John’s hips. Shoulders hunched slightly, he pressed his dark grey lips to the back side of his matesprit’s ear. “So,” he murmured, voice low and sultry, just to tease his lover, “do you have lubricant I should be using, or would you rather me slick you up with my fluid?”

"I dunno," John whined back, leaning his head back to try and get a better look. Karkat had successfully pinned him, and he squirmed underneath. "Don't you have enough to do that job?" He could feel his bulge squelching against his rump.

“More than enough,” the troll purred back, close to John’s ear, rocking his hips slightly, allowing his sex to slide around in the building slick spot near his matesprit’s tailbone. “Just want to make sure you get what you want and how you want it.” Pressing his lips against the soft skin of John’s jaw, Karkat hummed again as his right hand found the smooth curve of John’s rear, gripping it firmly with his fingertips.

John sucked in a shaky breath and had to bow his head, not wanting to come across too needy. But as his ass was squeezed and caressed, he couldn't help but buck into the touch, groaning softly. "I want you, Karkat. I just want you."

“The cliché romantic tropes get me every time too.” Karkat chuckled, kissing at John’s jaw, then moving down his neck, over his shoulder and working his way down his back with flighty, affectionate pecks; his breath fanning over warm, damp skin as his lips traveled over every bump in his spine. Shifting backwards, Karkat was able get a hand between himself and his matesprit, wrapping his fingers around his slick bulge and stroking it several times; enough to get his fingers coated in warm, translucent lubricant. He paused with his lips at the small of John’s back, breathing out with a sigh before leaning away completely. His free hand found its way from the soft sheets to the human’s knee, sliding purposefully up his thigh and resting against his buttock with a gentle squeeze. Karkat traced his thumb across the crease in John’s rear before using the digit to pull the cheek aside. Swallowing, the troll pressed his slick fingers into the crack, sliding them around slightly before resting the tip of his index finger against John’s hole. “You’re positive?” He asked, giving his matesprit another chance to back out if he wanted to.

Silently John nodded his head, trying to settle himself from the weird feeling of foreign moisture between his cheeks. He kept chanting to himself "this isn't weird, this isn't weird" internally, running through the expected presses through his mind. He'd done this plenty of times himself, prodding himself and finding his limits and favored actions. He'd love to just lay back and let Karkat explore him, but seeing as it was their first time, he knew he'd benefit from at least a little direction. "Just a little at first," he muttered, rubbing his chin against his shoulder, a bit of his bangs plastering itself on his forehead.

With a soft hum of acknowledgement, Karkat leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the space between his lover’s shoulder blades, keeping his lips hovering there as his index finger tentatively pushed against John’s entrance. It was tight and squeezed against him at first before John forced himself to relax, allowing him to push in a little more. He was slow and careful, ears trained forward to the sounds of his matesprit as he gently slid his finger inside, pressing in until he was up to the last knuckle, where he paused, waiting for John’s reaction.

A tiny whimper came at the end of every breath John managed to remember, taking back control his body so he could enjoy what was happening. Something he'd been fantasizing about for months now was happening, and he couldn't control how his muscles reacted. Naturally he treated the probing finger like an intrusion and tried to dispel it, but as the twinge of pain eased and he was stretched he could feel the corner of his eyes water. "Shit," he whispered, "that's.... good. So... mmm."

With a soft hum, Karkat nuzzled John’s spine affectionately, kissing it and whispering against John’s skin. “Just tell me when you’re ready for me to move. You know more about this than I do at this point. Just walk me through it.” His finger twitched anxiously, shifting slightly inside his matesprit’s tight wastechute. It was a really weird concept for him; as far as he knew, this kind of sex was reserved for the kinkiest of fornicators in Alternian culture, but apparently it was actually fairly common on Earth, seeing as how humans were dimorphs. “Just walk me through how to make this feel good for you.”

"Mmmhmm!" John agreed and jumped slightly at the finger movement, his hands gripping tight into the sheets beneath him. John swallowed the gathering saliva in his mouth, regulating his breathing to focus. "Try.... try pulling out a little. Just... back and forth, but slow. Please..."

With a quiet grunt and an acquiescent nod, Karkat did as John told him, being tentative and careful as he withdrew his finger to the first knuckle, pausing again before pushing back in. It was hot and tight, and as he moved, no matter how slowly, he could feel John’s muscles tense up briefly before relaxing again. Each time he would flinch, Karkat would pause what he was doing and press his warm lips to his matesprit’s spine with a reassuring hum.

Kneeling there, waiting for his body to finally accept what was happening and relax was draining on John. He knew that his real fun wouldn't come until Karkat could use his bulge inside of him, satisfying his somewhat fetishistic desire. But with his hole still clenching painfully at something that was out of his hands, John could only grit his teeth and mentally psych himself into calming down. It was Karkat after all, and his movements showed how serious he took it, the troll knowing that rushing would only ruin everything. With that image in his head, John's spine bowed and the angle provided a little more comfort. "That's good," he said groggily over his shoulder, "maybe a little faster."

Obliging, he quickened his pace, still pausing just slightly when John clenched involuntarily, though the gripping was becoming less frequent as he became slightly accustomed to the feeling. His finger pushed in and slid out again, keeping an even pace, minding the gentle squeezes less as John grew accustomed to the foreign presence. Karkat still kept kissing his matesprit’s back with reassuring affection, his bloodpusher throbbing with pity for his matesprit like he wasn’t sure was even possible.

John became impatient with himself and decided to move on, thinking if he could just stretch enough then he could accommodate the thick base of Karkat's bulge and have some sort of counter to the annoying twanged of pain. "Another," he huffed, wiping his forehead on a pillow before turning back his head, "and mmmm sss! Some more lube."

At first Karkat only grunted compliantly, but as he withdrew the one finger, he hesitated before quickly slipping off the bed and getting into the drawer of John’s bedside table, assuring himself that ‘more’ probably also implied ‘better’. The troll fumbled around the contents, pushing aside some useless junk John kept handy for reasons he was pretty sure were stupid. Finally he found the little blue bottle in the back, barely used since Karkat’s bulge and nook made enough lubricant for themselves and John very rarely went solo. Quickly clamoring back onto the bed, he unscrewed the cap, pouring a generous amount of the lube onto his fingers with a bit of a grimace. He recapped the bottle with one hand before prying John’s rear open with his thumb again. “Ready?” He traced two fingers around John’s pink-slicked entrance, feeling it twitch under his touch.

John sighed and nodded, craning back to see what he could. "Yeah, and you don't have'ta go slow now. I'm ok."

With a hum, Karkat nodded, pressing in with his index and middle finger. Well soaked in actual lubricant as opposed to his own wet juices, the fingers slipped in without difficulty, and he pressed in to the knuckle with ease. He paused for a moment, but rather than waiting on John’s reaction this time, he heeded his matesprit’s instruction not to go slow. Karkat withdrew his fingers to the first knuckle before pressing them all the way back in again, sure to be gentle, but not too slow either.

Bowing his head forward, John gave an assuring sigh, hoping to quicken the process if he showed signs of improving. Sure, now his ass felt twice as uncomfortable, but with the ample amount of lube and a quickened pace, it ebbed faster and discomfort waned into yearning. He even began to moan softly and the churning feeling, envisioning what was to come. "Mmm that's great Kar.... yeah, l-like that."

Curling his spine, Karkat hunched over his matesprit slightly, pressing affectionate kisses to John’s hips and spine as he moved his fingers at a steady, even pace. He occasionally would curl or wriggle them just a bit to press against the hot walls of John’s insides, but tried not to test his limits too much. When John finally showed signs of sufficient comfort, Karkat slowed down the gentle thrusting of his fingers, and rested his cheek against the damp curve of his lover’s hip. “Ready for one more?”

"Mmmm can't we just move on?" John grumbled, actually leaning back onto the fingers as they slowed. "I want you already. I'll be fine."

“Whatever you think you’re ready for,” Karkat mumbled back, “like I said, you know more about what you want and what you need than I do, so just tell me what that is and it’s yours.” Sliding his free hand down and back up John’s thigh, Karkat gave the joint of his matesprit’s hip a quick, encouraging squeeze before pulling his fingers out all the way and smearing their leftover goop against his own leg. “Quick question though. While we do this, could I watch you, or would you really rather stay like this?”

"Man, I don't know. Both are good I guess... my knees are starting to hurt, but then you'll get to see when I can't... unless I put my glasses on, but I really don't want to..." As John griped to himself he had actually descended to lying flat out, arms at sides.

“Well make up your mind, jackass, before my bulge gets bored and retreats.”

Karkat didn’t really mean to sound as harsh as he did; truth was he was really nervous about all this and was honestly digging for a clear sign of approval. He actually kind of loathed that about himself, that when he got intimidated, he started fishing for encouragement, especially from John. He didn’t want to feel so needy, but at the same time he really did want just what John wanted.

"Well instead of making me make all the decisions, put in your two cents. The hard part's over, dumbass," John snorted back, turning his head to lean into his palm. "What do you wanna see?"

“I just told you I wanna see your stupid face, didn’t I?” Karkat growled back, digging his nose into the small of John’s back and squeezing his hips in both his hands. He kissed the soft skin at the base of his matesprit’s spine, and hummed dotingly. “I want to be able to watch your expressions so I don’t have to keep asking if I’m doing okay. How about that?”

John smirked and reached a hand back to poke his lover's face. "That's better. Now get off."

Grunting a quick “rude” Karkat did as he was told, scooting back and giving John as much room as he needed. Still he watched intently, eyes trained on John with glowing-hot desire reflected off his bright red irises in the half-light.

Careful to mind his feet lest he kick his lover, John scooted and threw himself around, plopping down on his back and savoring the feeling of smooth, slick sheets for a moment. Snatching up his glasses again, cleaning them with the cloth on his nightstand and then testing them, he was satisfied and beaconed Karkat back into his extended arms. "Com'ere."

With a soft growl, troll hesitated, taking a moment to look over his matesprit splayed in the silken sheets for him, soft, flushed, and a bit damp with sweat. It was so tempting, like a buffet of tantalizing, fresh-baked confections; Karkat wanted to dive right in and sate his aching sweet-tooth. Biting his lower lip, the troll groaned quietly, bowed forward over John, and pressed his nose to John’s clavicle. Without much hesitation with his lips against John’s skin, Karkat opened his mouth and sucked on his matesprit’s collarbone before trailing his tongue up his lover’s neck to his ear.

Moving in, Karkat slipped his hands just under John's shoulders, holding him up and leaving himself open for the human's touch. Nimble fingers raked through short troll hair as the other set found rest on his nape, holding the alien's head close. John nipped at his boyfriend's moving jaw with the side of his teeth as he moved, groaning happily into his trained ear.

With lusty sounds rumbling in his chest, Karkat carefully sucked at the joint between John’s neck and jaw before nibbling his way down the warm column of skin. He paused momentarily to suck again at the muscle of John’s throat, moaning softly as John tugged his hair. Angling his body, Karkat rolled his hip in such a way that brushed his hot, slick bulge against his matesprit’s balls, the warmth-seeking tip curling curiously against his taint.

John whined at the tightening around his sensitive sack, and his gripped the nape-hairs of the troll. "Easy," John whispered, taking a hand to the tough shoulder of his matesprit and squeezing hesitantly.

Sighing and groaning a quiet apology, Karkat leaned back slightly, his lips sliding along the remainder of John’s exposed neck until he was kissing John’s sternum.  He paused for a moment, listening to his lover’s short breathing, feeling John’s quick pulse beating against his chest. It was so intimate; he could hear, feel, and see his matesprit shiver softly in his hold. He could smell John in every breath he took, and taste his sweat and skin still lingering on his tongue. Karkat swallowed hard and exhaled against his chest before leaning back again and looking down at the human cradled in his arms. His bloodpusher was melting with sickeningly sweet pity; it was torturous and wonderful.

“John, I love you so fucking much.”

With a toothy grin John tugged Karkat down to seal their lips, murmuring how he pitied the troll into his mouth. John took his legs and wrapped them out and around his lover's, tangling their bodies more to try and still the moving hips that held the pulling tentasex. It wasn't as aggressive as before, but any twitch from the slippery bulge made brought John's testicles closer to being strangulated, a fate not good for either of them.

Swallowing hard as he broke away from their kiss, Karkat let out a low groan, shifting slightly as John fought to keep him still by wrapping his legs tighter around Karkat’s waist. Kissing John’s throat dotingly, he slipped one hand from behind his matesprit’s back, finding his own bulge with it and working carefully to disentangle himself from John’s vulnerable sack. John was warm and inviting, but the muscle loosened its grip reluctantly, giving in to wrap around Karkat’s fingers and accepting the new command. Proceeding with caution, Karkat pressed his constricted fingers into the smooth groove of his mate’s rear, pinching the tip of his bulge gently between two fingers and coaxing it towards his wastechute. The troll’s face hardened in concentration as the delicate sex wriggled free of his directive grasp, favoring coiling around his fingers to exploring inside his matesprit. Letting out a raspy whine of frustration, Karkat prodded his entrance with his fingers, pushing them in with the bulge still wrapped around them and forcing the sex inside.

John had to suck in a lungful and wait, the twinge coming back with no immediate relief as Karkat struggled to control his unruly bulge. "Ssss K.... mmm! What are you- Shit!" John tried to catch his breath as the tentacle finally got the idea and slid in its girth along with Karkat's fingers. He was stretched mercilessly and it drew a breathy whine from John. "Ohh Fuck! Karkat!"

Wriggling his fingers to be sure his bulge was free, Karkat quickly withdrew them and moved his hand to hold John’s hip and give it a gentle squeeze.  He murmured supportively against his matesprit’s skin and pressed comforting pecks against John’s neck. He wanted to apologize, and do his best to make it better, but all he managed to breathe out was a rumbling “mmmmm, fuck, John” as he clenched tight around his bulge, surrounding it in hot, wet pressure. Angling his hips and pushing forward just a bit more, Karkat groaned as his bulge slipped all the way inside, John taking him in to the hilt. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before, and the sensation was already rushing to his head and making him dizzy with pleasure.

On the other end, John was just trying to comprehend what was happening. His rectum was twitching around the invading bulge, feeling out the soft, slimy thing. It was vastly different from what he'd been preparing himself for, but logically he grasped the concept. Karkat's bulge was unlike fingers and toys, all of which were for the most part rigid. This, though, was alive inside of him, squirming and exploring its prison, testing its boundaries. Fully in, the bulge pressed against John’s prostate, making him cringe in bliss, and as it ground against him he had to stifle a high pitched cry, thinking the noise would sound pained and make Karkat withdraw.

Karkat moaned softly against his matesprit’s neck as his bulge undulated inside John’s tight heat, rolling with natural, rhythmic movements and reaching deep into uncharted territory. His breath came in hot and ragged, and he moved his mouth to press defensively against John’s collarbone as he fought a shiver back down his spine. Eyes clenched tight, the troll swallowed most of the sounds that threatened to bubble up from his throat, and instead concentrated on the deep, intimate feeling and the subtle sounds John made. When John flinched, Karkat pressed his lips to his clavicle and hummed softly, gripping his hips with tender affection, rocking into them gently and murmuring amorous words in Alternian.

John slowly let his hands migrate to the back of Karkat's neck in favor of draping his arms around him. He hugged his lover tightly and lost the will to conceal his voice, the magic happening waxing over any real conscious thought.

"Hah, huh mmmmmmm Kar- ha! Oh shiiimmm Karkaaaaaa huh! Jesus fuck- huh. Huh. Huh! UuhhnnmmMMmmm! Karkat!" Suddenly the tip of Karkat's bulge flicked his hot spot, then crammed itself against it as the sex learned of the boy's favorable reactions. John clenched down hard around Karkat as it began massaging his prostate, applying enough pressure to make his vision spotty. "Fuck Kaaaar, huh!"

“Good?” Karkat breathed back into the crook of John’s neck, as if the answer wasn’t blatantly obvious.  Karkat smiled against his lover’s skin, rocking them a little harder, drinking in John’s wanton gasps, and loving the way his hips fit perfectly with the human’s pelvis.  “Right there? Oh, John you’re so tight. You let me go so deep. Fuck. You sound so fucking good. You’re wonderful.” Groaning softly, he scratched his nails gently across his matesprit’s waist and sucked tenderly on the joint where John’s neck met his shoulder.

At the tingling white marks being drawn into his skin, John's knees dug into his lover's grubscars, his ankles unhooking and toes curling. He could only continue to moan and call out for his boyfriend, getting lost in the sweet smog of his lust. No matter how he tried John knew there was no way to recreate this for later, that this pleasure here and now was one of a kind, a precious gift that he needed to absorb, keep and savor while it lasted. His cock ached from neglect, but with Karkat's stomach providing enough of friction he ignored it and kept up his hollering.

"Fuck K, I- shit! Mmmmmmmm!"

It wasn’t long before Karkat had produced a dark red hickey on the joint of his lover’s shoulder, and he moved upwards a bit to suck another fresh patch of skin red.  There wasn’t much more that required his attention as his bulge did most of the work, avidly rolling inside him and getting the job done. When John’s knees dug into his vulnerable flanks, however, he let out a throaty yelp and his hips jerked forward, pressing into his matesprit sharply. As hot pleasure began to roil in Karkat’s gut, a worried question flashed across his aching mind for a moment, screaming for an instant for the troll to get a hold of himself. He shrugged the feeling off and went back to sucking on his lover’s throat, but that nagging voice at the back of his head reminded him of buckets, and how it was fine when John broke inside of him, but breaking inside of John would be disastrous.

All the while a normal amount of genetic material had been seeping out of John's hole, oozing along to his tailbone. John felt the liquid drip from his skin into the once pristine sheets, and he worried of how much longer he and his lover both would last. "Shit Kar- ah! Oh m-mmman..." he whined, frustrated that he was almost too far gone to make proper sentences. "Karkt, I can't ssss no bite! Ah! OH god, Kar. I'm almost... uuuh, huh! Karkat?"

Grunting in response, Karkat lifted his head and swallowed before he could give any real response. “Yeah, John?”

 His hips continued to rock gently, and his breathing came in fast and shallow as he hunched over his matesprit, holding his sweaty body close and gripping him with need. Groaning again, Karkat winced with pleasure as John’s knees twisted against his grub scars, sending sparks of sensation radiating through his spine.

"Are you.... Mmm god dammit. Are y- hah! Crap.... Kar, you close? I'mmmmMMmmm! Ha, I'm getting.... hoh man," water started to well in John's eyes, and he shut them tight. "Fuck, talk K! Huh, huh p-please just nnn. Almost...."

Again the signal ‘BUCKET’ came screaming across Karkat’s mind, and he blinked, shaking his head to clear away the thought. John was priority right now, he could hold it in until his matesprit got what he needed, but it’d be close. Fuck. Maybe. No, he could do it.

“Fuck,” Karkat hissed, clutching John’s hips with his fingertips as he rocked forward again. “Y-yeah, f-fuuu… close… you fff…” He growled, determined not to let his own concentration slip so far; he could make out a few lousy words, damn it. “You first, asshole.” Karkat bit his own lip and snarled at himself for his brilliant choice of words. “Worry about me ah-after.”

"K," John muttered, whether that was an affirmation or his lover's pet name even he was unsure. His hold on Karkat's neck grew tighter as he pushed his hips against the others, mashing his prostate and rubbing his dick against the troll’s belly ever so roughly. He started to whimper into the air, a light breeze blowing above them.

Going back to sucking hickies onto John’s neck, Karkat let the action distract him from the screaming protest in his mind that blared how close he was to breaking. He shoved the thought away, rocking his hips and groaning softly, training his ears forward and concentrating on John’s rising sounds of pleasure.  He nipped gently at the muscle of John’s neck in spite of his command not to bite; it was an instinct to nip at a matesprit, to give them the kind of good-pain that tingles in their skin long after your teeth have left, like a sensory imprint. Still he was careful not to draw blood.

John moaned and rolled his head towards the attacker, trying to ward him off. His neck burned painfully but thankfully it was overshadowed by his loins, which were starting to send sharp waves through his body. "Fuck Kar-fuck. I fuuuuuck! Sssssssmmm oh shit, HA fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck, oh FUCk! Karkat! Ha." His hands flew to Karkat's shoulder to clench on them tightly, his back arching as his release rocked through him.

As John went rigid in his hold, Karkat too forced himself to hold still, clenching and moaning against John’s shoulder as he clamped down on his bulge and his hot release splashed against their bellies. Karkat shuddered and winced as his bulge continued wriggling, aching for release in spite of the compressed space. Gritting his teeth, Karkat whimpered softly into the crook of John’s neck, fighting valiantly against his drive to break; fuck, he didn’t want to do it in John.

The waves shuddered through the human's body and left him numb and light. His muscles relaxed, and he shivered at the feeling of Karkat's bulge still active inside him. "Mmm your turn," he whispered lovingly to the troll's tuned in ear, massaging his shoulders comfortingly. "I'm ready."

Karkat blanched and leaned back, giving his matesprit a look of anxious discomfort. “What? I… what?” He shook his head until his ears wiggled slightly, biting his lip viciously as another jolt of need racked his spine. “No, I can’t. Not… in you. We didn’t talk about this.” He flushed from the tips of his ears to the tip of his nose and winced again, release was banging on the door and holding back was starting to hurt. He fought down the urge to tell john what he was suggesting was filthy and depraved, because the whole situation was filthy and depraved as far as troll culture was concerned. This wasn’t even for him. This was for John. Why would he want that?

"Well if you gotta get your bucket, then ok, but you look like you can't hold back. It's ok... I can help." John brushed the sopped bangs from his matesprit's face, looking for instruction for once that night. "I'll do whatever you need me to."

“I don’t…” Karkat cut himself off before admitting that he didn’t want to break inside his matesprit. It was okay when trolls did it; trolls had nooks made just for the exact purpose of accepting and combining genetic material, but John wasn’t a troll, and that wasn’t his nook. Karkat swallowed hard, and shot a desperate look towards the magic chest, and the pail laying out beside it from where he’d set it aside earlier. “Fuck, John. Bucket. Now.”

Quietly, John nodded and started to push on his shoulders, letting him lean back and pull himself out. He heard Karkat groan as he climbed off, and John felt the emptiness as he sat up. Grimacing at his own stomach, John got up and dashed as fast as his tired body allowed and yanked the handle, pulling the metal bucket to his chest before crossing back. "Ok ok, I got you. Kneel there," he instructed as he handed his still panting boyfriend his bucket.

Gritting his teeth and groaning, Karkat hunched over the pail, clutching the rim with white-knuckled intensity and quickly stroking the scarlet bulge in his fist. Body shuddering, and hips jerking, Karkat gasped his matesptrit’s name breathlessly before that final barrier came down and he broke with a shaky moan. He panted heavily, whimpering with quiet satisfaction as he spilled his release, squeezing and stroking his bulge to completion.

As the seconds passed, John shimmied over to him and rubbed the troll's curved back, murmuring supportively into his hair. "Ready for the other?" He whispered, resting his other hand over Karkat's shaking hip.

With a slight grunt, he nodded, swiping a dark grey tongue across his lips before speaking. “You wanna do the honors?” His voice quavered weakly as he teetered on the border between the beginning of his release and the afterglow, fighting the balancing act on wobbly legs.

John couldn't resist a smile as his hand snaked in to his boyfriend's groin, reaching under to his glistening slit. Gently he prodded his nook, stroking along the crease while nuzzling the side of his head. He had moved just behind Karkat and pulled his other arm around Karkat's heaving chest, nestling his chin into the crook of his neck, but not before giving the space a quick peck.

With a short gasp, Karkat’s hips jerked as John slipped his finger in deep enough to trigger his secondary release. He whined softly, and leaned heavily into his lover’s embrace as his spine shivered and his nook spilled its contents into the bucket with a soft splash. The feeling was a bit more pronounced than usual; the vulnerable sex still a bit oversensitive from its use with the vibrator. When he was finished, the troll slumped back with a contented sigh, his bulge making a quick retreat back behind its protective sheath as John wiped his sullied fingers against Karkat’s already messy thigh.

With the last of their pleasures over, John let his lips linger over Karkat's neck, tightening his hug on the other. "Thank you," he mumbled, swaying them to and fro. John closed his eye and a few wisps of air swirled around them, cooling their scorched bodies. "Thank you, thank you, thank you..."

“Mmmmm, thank _you_ ,” Karkat responded languidly as he turned his head slightly to press an appreciative peck against the side of John’s head. With a lazy hand gesture, Karkat captchalogued the used bucket, sighing with relief as it vanished. The prospect of spilling its contents as he attempted to lazily bask in his afterglow was not very appealing. He leaned back against his matesprit with a contented sigh, palms falling to rest against John’s knees.

John leaned away and started pressing kisses into the nape of his neck, letting the wind pick up enough to make the lights flicker. Rose petals started to dance across the surfaces they once laid on, and it made hom chuckle. "You did good, Vantas."

“Did I?” He replied with a slight smile. “Good to know our first meager attempt at something remotely new was successful. Maybe you should come up with new ideas more often, given that you can work up the courage to bring them to the bedroom.”

"Well why don't you come up with the next new thing then?" John relinquished his hold and simmered down the now chilling breeze, taking up the edges of the silk sheets to drape over his shoulders. "What do you wanna do? Like, fantasy or position or something?"

“Gee, John,” he snorted, turning slightly such that he could face his lover. “Let me just consult my journal of salacious fantasies and depraved concupiscent inclinations. Would you prefer to traverse them in alphabetical or chronological order?” He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly; doing his best to sound sarcastic and imply he hadn’t actually kept a log of sexual fantasies stashed somewhere.

"Well ok then. No more new stuff." With a sigh John withdrew completely, taking the sheets with him as he exited the bed to retrieve his clothes.

Before he could get too far, Karkat slipped a leg off the bed and quickly stepped on the sheet, inhibiting the human from taking it any further. “Okay douchebag, you are absolutely, positively, one hundred percent not allowed to sulk after good sex. Against the sexy bedroom rules.” Keeping his foot on the silken sheet, Karkat folded his arms across his middle, and rolled his eyes again. “You didn’t even answer my question.”

"Well your question was stupid and rude. Plus I'm cold now." John tugged the sheet tighter, yanking it from under his foot. With that he wrapped the sultry cloth tighter around himself, covering himself up. "Seriously. I was just asking..."

With a defeated sigh, Karkat again gestured for his sylladex, producing a worn-out looking spiral journal with a hard, black cover and beat-up edges. The pages were almost all wrinkled, and there were even some loose-leaf sheets sticking out at awkward angles. Rather than supplying another sarcastic rebuttal, the troll simply restated his previous question. “Alphabetical, or chronological?”

Turning back to see the black book clutched in his hands, John's eyes widened. "No way," he whispered, almost tripping over his cape as he hustled back to lean over him. "...How long-"

“Fucking chill,” Karkat snapped back, looking back down at the book and stroking his thumb over the frayed cover. “It’s a dream journal. Most of the stuff in here is just the shitty nightmares I had without sopor, but Kanaya told me that was a really self-destructive coping method, and told me to write some positive things.” He shrugged and opened it up; much to John’s dismay it was all written in Alternian, but even then he could still tell Karkat’s penmanship was atrocious. “I started writing out some dreams I would have liked to have had, or some fantasies about things like being hatched with a normal blood color or having more friends that liked me more.” He paused and flipped to the back of the book, there was a brief separation of blank pages between the front and the back, implying that he’d started working his way backwards at some point. “I didn’t start recording my, you know, sexual fantasies until I was about seven sweeps. A lot of the older ones are really dumb and not sexy, but some of the newer ones might be worth a try if you’re interested.”

"Karkat," John hummed, leaning onto his shoulder as he looked over what looked like meticulous and detailed writings as he flipped pages. The thought that he'd misjudged his boyfriend made him feel ever so slightly bad, but even more so it made John happy that he wasn't the only one thinking about their love life. He was understanding of the idea ‘don't fix it if it ain't broke’, but their relationship was still young, and he wanted to explore more, and he had feared he was the only one in that. But with this obvious contradiction, John smiled and rubbed his cheek on Karkat's bare skin.

"... what's one you'd like to try, mmm... tomorrow?"

“Well most of them aren’t really actions so much as situations or scenes, maybe even a fully developed plot or two. Maybe we should read through a couple and you let me know if any of them sound good to you.” He idly thumbed through the pages to the very back, skipping over some of the earlier entries which were deemed inadequate. “I’ve got a couple in here I wrote up with you in mind. I just never really brought them up because I don’t really know if you’re into role-play or not. Apparently some people think it’s fucking weird.”

"Oooh ooh, read one out!" Sitting up and scooting closer, John smirked. "An actor must know what is to come if he is to... prepare."

“Well fuck,” Karkat grumbled before scrambling up to the head of the bed and propping up John’s pillows to be leaned back on before doing so. “Alright, sit your wriggler ass down, it’s time for one of Karkat’s fucking erotic fantasy bedtime stories.” Clearing his throat, he stares at the page in Alternian and mutters the words in his native tongue, doing his best to translate on the fly. “Uh. Ehem. Hm. There are candles and champagne on ice, the bed is made and beckons, but not immediately. The scene is set for intimacy, and the air hums with wanton aphrodisia. There is a knock on the door. I rise and saunter seductively to it, trance like, hair gently buffeted by an unseen breeze. I open the door. John is in the hall, waiting expectantly in a brown suit, virtuous and looking for an innocent conversation. Chimes sound in the background as he looks me over, realizing how scantily clad the object of his desires is. I’m wearing a sheer, orange silk robe that hangs off my shoulders showing inviting skin. ‘Are you the keymaster?’ I ask in a breathy tone, supernatural lust burning in my eyes.”

John had scurried after him and nestled himself along Karkat’s side, ready for the glamor and mystique of Karkat's fantasies to woo him and draw him in, but the familiar telling of the by far sexiest scene from one of his treasured movies was sadly not doing it for him. "Wait... you wanna be Dana? The possessed love interest? Really?"

“Like I said, I wrote up a couple of these with you in mind, and almost all of them are some level of stupid.” He shrugged and licked his fingertips, turning a couple of pages. “I could read out another one if you think that’s dumb. That was like, from like almost a sweep ago, so I don’t know. It was something I fucking thought about.”

"No no, it's fine. Heck, it's your turn." He took his makeshift robe and threw it over Karkat's legs, butting up against him with bare skins touching. "Whatever your little bloodpusher wants, Kar."

“Nah, that one’s stupid and cliché anyway. Writing sucks rancid nook. You want something out of the fucking box, right?” Karkat thumbed through a couple more pages before finally stopping. “How about this. I’ll sum up a scene and you give me a thumbs-up or thumbs-down?” It looked as if he already had picked out the next one he wanted to read.

John knew no matter what he'd give him the affirmative, but he was very curious all the same. "Lay it on me."

“Do you ever think about like, what if the game never happened? Because sometimes I do, like, and that’s a shitty thought, because you know we would have never met, and someday the Imperial Warfleet would have shown up and annihilated the human race and sucked your planet of all its natural resources before moving on. But what if it wasn’t quite like that? Like…” Karkat sighed, shoulders slumping as he turned his eyes towards John. “Okay, this is going to sound really fucking stupid and you have to swear not to fucking laugh.”

"No laughing, but no promises on smiling."

“Okay. So. This is one of those ‘normal blood’ fantasies but, like, on musclebeast steroids. The Alternian army is coming to invade Earth. You’re among a crew of diplomats sent to conference with the leader of the empire in feeble attempts to appease them and save your planet. And you know who the emperor is? Me. I’m the douchey tyrian-blooded mastermind and I won’t decide on whether or not to glass your planet until I’ve tried the local cuisine. Not that you’d have a choice once aboard my vessel.”

Scrunching up his nose, John simply nodded, drawing this picture in his head. "So like you're gonna sample our food to see if it's worth keeping? Sounds kinda...." John rolled away to lay out on his back. "Well it could be fun, like I feed you fruit and sweets-"

“No… I mean… well, maybe?” Karkat shrugged before rolling his eyes and shaking his head; that had really caught him off guard. “But I didn’t mean food, you brainless barfpuppet. I meant sex. I’m not that bad at sultry innuendo. The point was supposed to be a sexy political power play role-play or something, and you could be my handsome yet unwitting diplomatic concubine. That’s probably a really bad way to word that. Sorry. All of my ideas are pretty shitty.” He grimaced down at the book of ideas, starting to believe that they were probably all relatively piss-poor and unsexy.

"Oooooh, ok that makes better sexy sense," John rolled back. "That could work. Like a master/slave bit," he smiled, pulling down the sheets covering Karkat's chest, letting his finger drag down his warm pectorals. "...I like it."

“Really?” Karkat looked at him skeptically; all this rising self-doubt was making it difficult for him to believe John actually thought it was a good idea. “I mean, it’s wide open for suggestions, and we could do as little or as much for it as you fucking want.” He knew the plot was a rickety rattletrap of a vehicle for smut, but so were all of his stupid ideas for erotic vignettes; it wasn’t like they could act out some big ass drama in the bedroom. Well they could, but who had the time for that when horny?

"Well we might skip the whole beginning and just play out the ‘I'm trapped in your bedroom and have to appease you for the sake of the human race’... part. No pressure." John walked his fingers back up over his abs. "But this is for you. How much do you want?"

“A little lead-in would be nice, but we could do that shit over pester if you wanted? I don’t fucking know.” He looked down at the page and read over the shitty plot, rolling his eyes and sighing to himself. It seemed like a good idea in theory if they could get it right, but erotic political drama might be tough. “Or we could act it out. Of course just a little lead-in. There’s a lot of unnecessary plot in here. I don’t know why I thought I had to write out all this retarded sociopolitical hoofbeast shit.”

"Because it makes it more believable. Like, I think if there's a story, then it’s not just sex." John smiled and started rubbing his chest. "But yeah, we can talk it out, like I wait in the room for you, ordered to stay put and wait for ‘His Royal Highness Emperor Vantas’."

“Damn fucking straight ‘His Royal Highness Emperor Vantas’.” Karkat turned his head with a smirk and quickly captured John’s lips with a loving smooch, putting the journal face-down in his lap so he could rest a palm against John’s shoulder. There was a low chuckle in his voice as Karkat thought ahead to tomorrow night when all this could be put in motion. He was already looking forward to it.


	2. Chapter 2:

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mixing things up in the bedroom was definitely a good idea, and John and Karkat are both eager to try out Karkat's tyrian-blood role-play. There's nothing wrong with getting into character, but it becomes increasingly difficult to tell where the royal douche ends and the mutant douche begins. Maybe role-playing a scenario so dangerously close to kismesissitude wasn't such a good idea after all.

Chapter 2:

 

The next day dragged on torturously slowly. Throughout the course of the day, John and Karkat would occasionally come into contact, at which point they’d lock eyes and smile sheepishly before hurrying back to work. Karkat was certain he’d parsed through more captcha codes in the one afternoon than he had in his entire miserable life. By the time the group had dispersed for the evening, the plot had been rolling over in his head all day and he was eager to set the scene in motion.

John, on the other hand, had been hard at work focusing on getting into character. If he was going to do this, he didn't want to half-ass it. With all the work Karkat always put into their date nights, John wasn't going to come up short and disappoint his boyfriend. But he didn’t push himself too hard. It was their first time with role-playing, and he was in a relationship with the romance expert, so it was a big thing to live up to to begin with. There was no competition when it came to who was better, so he just focused on pleasing his imperial asshole.

The two of them met up back at their shared room later. Karkat hesitated awkwardly, shifting from foot to foot. With his bottom lip between his teeth, Karkat looked up at John and their eyes locked. He shuffled a bit, apprehensively, but also eager to get things underway.

“So… ready?”

John shot him a half smile and dug his hands into his pocket. “Whenever you are,” he said, leaning in to quickly peck Karkat’s forehead. He opened the door to their room and looked sheepishly at him. “So, should I go in and wait, or....?”

“Actually, I was going to use the ablution block real quick before. I’ve got… something for the role-play.” Karkat gave him a sheepish grin and scratched at his shoulder, giving him a shrug. He had used some of his time sorting captcha codes to alchemize a couple of things to make the scene feel more real. There wasn’t anything wrong with that, though.

“Alright, then after you... your majesty,” John grinned, standing aside for the star of the night.

Karkat replied with a nervous smile before scuttling past and ducking into the adjoined bathroom. He quickly locked the door behind himself and fumbled with all of the contents of his sylladex. He may have undersold how much he’d actually alchemized for the role-play by just a bit. As fast as he could, Karkat changed his clothes, and when he was finally fully dressed, he leaned against the ledge of the sink and stared at his reflection in the mirror. He forced his hands to still and his anxious expression hardened as he allowed himself to sink into character. Holding his head up high and proud, he finally unlocked the bathroom door and entered back into the bedroom.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, back to the bathroom, John had made his own costume change, but not one as elaborate or probably time consuming. He was dressed in a simple white button up and black slacks with a loose tie to match. Upon hearing the noise of the door closing, he turned. He smiled at his boyfriend, but it quickly faded to astonishment.

 “Holy shit, Karkat... wow.”

John thought Karkat honestly looked like the real deal from the gold circlet bearing Karkat’s crest in the center pushing his hair back, to the knee-length, tight, black leggings. A sash of regal, tyrian fabric was tied around his waist, flowing all the way to the floor behind him edged in gold trimming. His chest was pressed in a form-fitting, black tank top that was partially translucent and emblazoned with his symbol in bright, royal fuchsia. His wrists and upper arms were clad in gold bracelets and bracers studded with pink tourmaline gems. One hand was empty while the other carried what looked like some double-sided pole-arm with a hooked sickle on each end. Karkat held himself with a kind of poised posture John had never seen in Karkat, and he looked down at his matesprit with stern eyes.

“You look... wow,” Oh man, this was getting serious.

“Silence, worthless human,” Karkat snarled, taking a step forward and quickly moving his weapon to press the hook against his throat. The gold blade was just a prop and wasn’t actually sharp, but the cold metal against his neck told him Karkat still meant business. “You will not speak unless ordered to do so. You are in the custody of the Alternian Emperor and the survival of your insignificant species hinges on your compliance. Do not test my patience. Is that clear?”

Biting his lip, John nodded, trying his best to slip into his role without any hiccups. This was important to Karkat, so it was worth doing it the best he could.

Karkat eyed him with skepticism as if wishing John had tripped up and spoken without direct order to do so. He was already playing a clever game. Good. Then this, perhaps, could still be fun. Maintaining his poise, Karkat lowered the blade from John’s throat and turned slightly to pace a bit. “Now, tell me you name, age, rank, and why you believe I should consider your services rather than annihilating your entire planet now.”

“John Egbert, 16, first lieutenant,” John grunted, turning more to a serious facade and putting on his military boots for the evening. “I believe you shouldn't destroy Earth, because that would wipe out several million species from the face of the universe, including my own.”

“Mercy isn’t really my style, John Egbert.” Karkat glanced over his shoulder, lowering his eyes slightly and giving his captive a malicious smirk. “Or I suppose it is, but at a price.” Karkat turned on his heel and slowly strode back towards John, eyeing him deviously as he passed by. “And you are the only bargaining chip your dusty little ape-infested space rock has offered me, and you’re not worth much.” He paused again, running this thumb along the sharp curve of the blade as if considering it already to use against his captive. “What can you offer me? Why shouldn’t I just kill you and lay waste to your planet?”

“What is it that I can offer?” John asked, scrabbling to figure out a response. Of course he knew the answer, but in all seriousness, there was no way he'd normally schmooze the tyrant over. “What is it you want?”

“You misunderstand me, human filth.” Karkat scoffed, aiming the point of his weapon at John again. “I’m the sole commander of an empire so wide and powerful it would burn out what little thinkpan you have between your auricular clots to even imagine. I have more wealth and influence than any other living being in the known universe, and I’ve decimated more worlds than you could ever dream in your most vividly horrifying daymares.” The golden implement traced down John’s cheek carefully, following the curve of his neck and slipping into the gap between his shirt and tie, hooking the black silk with the sickle’s tip and pulling him forward just a bit. “What I seek is entertainment, something exotic, like an alien pet. Something that can give me what my troll concubines can’t. Something… different.”

“C-concubines,” John stammered, playing the innocent soldier act, “what... what are you saying? You want me to... what? I thought this was a discussion, a meeting of the minds, not some-”

Karkat interrupted him with a deliciously evil laugh, giving his tie another brief yank and pulling him up by it just a bit. “You thought you could just walk in here and negotiate for your planet, scum? Ha! Like my dinner could just talk its way off the plate.” With an injurious grin, Karkat reached forward with his off hand, running the tips of his claws along John’s cheek. “No. You’re here because I need a new plaything and I want to take your species for a test run before I buy.” Karkat’s malevolent grin was coupled by a wicked chuckle as his fingertips found the curve of his captive’s jaw. “If I find your performance satisfactory, I may yet spare your planet and integrate it into my empire. Otherwise I’ll exterminate the human infestation, gut it for its resources, destroy it and move on.” He tipped John’s chin up with his fingertips, meeting his gaze with a smug stare. “The fate of your race hangs in the balance, John Egbert. Don’t disappoint me.”

John felt like those words had taken all of the air from the room, leaving him to stare blankly at Karkat. It was hot seeing him demanding and in control, but now there was huge pressure now on him to deliver. With a loud swallow, John closed his eyes. “I'm yours... to do with a-as you please. What is it you wish?”

Karkat glowered down at him, and twisted his end of his weapon slightly and giving it a slight jerk that pulled John out of his seat and forced him to stumble to his knees. “What did I say about speaking, wretch?” He snapped, bearing his fangs in a slight snarl. When John responded with the appropriate silence, his curled lip fell and his expression returned to stoic. “Strip. I want to see what I’ve got to work with.” He paused a moment before hesitantly unhooking the sickle from John’s tie and pushing at his chest with the blunt side.

Nodding, he motioned, inviting the other to take his place at the bedside. He then loosened his tie even more until the knot slipped and it hung on either side of his neck. His hands slowly undid each of his buttons, opening the shirt as he went.

 Sitting back Karkat crossed his legs neatly and slowly licked his lips, watching with scrutiny as John’s clothing was slowly and deliberately shed. His brows arched with interest, and he grazed his thumb along the curve of the weapon’s blade, rough skin grazing across dull metal.

Once he’d reached his waistband, John stopped and peered at his audience over the rim of his glasses. He rolled his shoulders one at a time, letting the cloth slip down his arms. They trailed down his skin until the shirt hung from his wrists and pants.

“Go on,” Karkat prompted, flicking the tip of his pole-arm towards John and eyeing him with a quirked brow. “I haven’t instructed you to stop, have I? Do as you’re told. I don’t like disobedient pets.” The troll traced his dark grey tongue across his pointed upper teeth and shifted slightly before reaching forward with his hooked weapon, catching the buckle of John’s belt with the sharp tip and tugging at it. “These next.”

John narrowed his eyes, working on getting himself out of his shirt first. His hands popped out of his sleeves with some effort, ~~s~~ ince he’d forgotten to unbutton the cuffs. He tugged on the shirt until it was freed from its tuck, and then slowly undid his buckle. He took the time to slide it out of each belt loop, making sure Karkat was watching closely.

Karkat nibbled his own lower lip as he looked on intently, his expression cold and serious, but also deeply invested. He was so absorbed in his role it was difficult to tell anymore where the royal douche ended and the mutant douche began. With stoic concentration, Karkat shifted, but never broke line of sight with his matesprit’s tease, watching with well-disguised, eager anticipation.

With a clear visual of approval of Karkat's gnawed lip, John finished his belt off with a good, loud snap, before tossing it aside. He slipped his shoes off and tugged at his socks, trying not to hop and ruin the sultry effect. But as he stumbled with his last sock, his attempt at playing it cool devolved to grunting and quietly cursing the garb before throwing it hatefully away. He cleared his throat and returned to charming his audience, brushing his fingers across his fly before unsnapping the button.

A soft sigh escaped Karkat’s lips, and he watched with intense scrutiny as John’s nimble fingers danced across the zipper of his nice slacks. Karkat’s bright red eyes and finless ears were the only dead-giveaways of his disguise, but with the way both seemed utterly trained on what lay before them with such earnest ferocity it was hard to doubt that Karkat was actually the Alternian heir. He shifted his legs, uncrossing them to alleviate the pressure on his bone bulge, fingers anxiously gripping the shaft of his weapon.

Inhaling softly, John started pulling on the tab, even getting so bold as to sway and twist his hips as he went. Reaching the bottom, his grey briefs peeked out in stark contrast against the black slacks.  His thumbs hooked into his empty belt loops and began their descent.

A quiet hum betrayed Karkat’s stoic character as the knowledge of what was coming got the better of him for a moment. With a twitch, however, he managed to rein himself back in, falling back to his state of stoic superiority relatively easily. Those deceptively red eyes still trained intently on John as his very gradually stripped.

Inch by inch John showed off his toned legs, and finally he stepped out of a puddle of black, tossing it with his toe into the pile. Standing there in nothing but his briefs, John’s hands joined in front of his groin to cover it as he took in the sight of the ferocious emperor before him.

Looking him over, Karkat raised his brow expectantly and gestured as if prompting John to continue. “What’s the matter, human?” He asked with a malign smirk that showed just the points of his sharp teeth. “Having second thoughts about saving your planet?” Shaking his head, Karkat clicked his tongue disappointedly. “Pity. I was really hoping for more from you.”

“I'm not really... experienced in this field of work,” John muttered, unlacing his fingers to hold the elastic covering his hips. “But... I'll do as you wish.” He quickly shimmied his briefs down his hips, showing off his faint happy trial that made an intimate promise of what was to come. He alternated pulling down his sides, letting the lines of his pelvis appear before the edge of his underwear met the beginning of his cock. He swallowed loudly, giving Karkat a scared but determined look, accepting what he must do for the mission.

“Mmm,” Karkat hummed, giving John a look of satisfaction as he neared the cusp of exposure. “That’s a good boy, so obedient.” He eyed the human with a look of malicious intent. “You and your miserable race submit so readily, like you want to be owned. I’m confident you’ll make quite satisfying slaves.” Karkat smirked, showing his pointed teeth. “Shame such weak cowards would simply roll over and show their bellies; I do like a good fight, but easy prey is more than welcome.”

John absorbed the insults, knowing full well it was only for the sake of the role-play, but the words slightly bit at him as his hands stopped. He began questioning his methods, wondering why he was making this so easy for him. Of course John realized this night was centered on Karkat, seeing as he was always the more romantic between them, and now it was John’s turn to show off his devotion by indulging in his lover’s fantasies. But the troll had never said exactly what he wanted. Sure it was the scene that had started off this whole thing, but John didn't actually know what Karkat was trying to accomplish. Did he want to completely dominate him, or the other way around? Did he want something short and sweet, or did he want to milk it for as much as he could?

 _‘What can I do,'_ John thought to himself, _‘if this were real? I wouldn't want to doom my planet by messing this up.... but I don't want to show off humans as weaklings either’_. “You like a good fight, do you?” He whispered, looking up to his captor. Suddenly he released his briefs to raise up his foot and plant is square in the tyrant's chest, knocking him back before jumping forward to pin him to the mattress.

Karkat’s brow furrowed and he bared his teeth with a threatening snarl, but still allowed himself to be pinned. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, insolent savage?” Karkat spat, arching up underneath John and struggling with his hold a moment before lying back flat and glowering up at him, the slightest red blush starting to show through at the tips of his ears. The lull ended quickly as Karkat broke free and shoved John to the side, rolling after him and grabbing at his wrists. “Have you forgotten your entire species is at stake? I will not hesitate to decimate your entire world if you do not submit.”

“We are not a race that will submit so easily,” John growled back, wrapping his leg around the other's waist and using his weight to flip them both back. Again he had the upper hand, and before Karkat could struggle or fight back John wrangled his massive weapon free and pressed its shaft against his collarbone, careful not to move up to crush his windpipe. The tussle was part of the game, but no one should actually get hurt. “Would your armies attack so easily when their commander is captive?”

“I will never be the captive of the likes of you!” Karkat snapped, grabbing the shaft of his weapon and shoving it back to knock against John’s chest and push him back a bit. In spite of his smallish stature, it was a well-known fact that Karkat was the stronger between the two of them, though he almost never actually threw his weight around. When he wriggled enough to get a bare foot placed up against John’s chest, there was only a moment for him to remember his lover’s true strength before he was being tossed off with a ferocious shove. The kick successfully pushed John off of him, but Karkat lost his grip on the weapon in the process, sending the golden implement off along with the human.

Stumbling back, John barely got his footing, trying to find his balance while holding the prop. He had felt it against his throat long enough to realize it was more authentic than probably needed, but holding the thing made him realize how much it weighed, widening the space between his hands to get a better hold. For show he twirled the thing like a baton in his hand, getting a feel for its remarkable balance before settling into a defensive stance. He held out the curved blade of one end towards the enemy, keeping his body between him and the exit.

“Put. That. Down.” Scrambling up to crouch on the mattress, Karkat snarled furiously, ears folding back and for a second John questioned whether this was still part of the role-play. “You are mine, human whelp. My property, and you will obey me!”

 Karkat growled and lunged forward, coming up short so as not to barrel his full weight into John. He dodged past the dangerous point of the dull blade and got a hold of the handle, pushing it back and forcing the shaft of the weapon to be braced up between them again. “Surrender.”

Snarling back, John cranked the massive weapon around, breaking Karkat’s hold. Still letting the momentum spin the heavy metal, he tosses it, letting it fly off to the side and clattering onto the floor out of reach. Without the barrier, he shoved back and got enough space to get a running start, flinging himself at Karkat to knock him off his feet.

Karkat stumbled and toppled; even after he fell, John continued to bear down on him until they ended up on the floor again. Ears folding back and eyes narrowing, the troll let out a guttural sound, the likes of which John had never heard before. It was low and rumbling and hissing, and Karkat’s lips were peeled back in an open-mouthed snarl. For a terrifying instant John felt like he was pinning a furious, wild animal. Karkat’s blunted claws scraped against the floor, scratching fruitlessly against the cold tile as his back arched, fighting against the weight of the boy on top of him.

John huffed as he struggled to keep Karkat contained, gripping his forearms and forcing them beside his head while keeping his knees digging into his thighs. “You really think we'd give up so easily? I am my own man, tyrant, and I won't be defeated.”

“You are treading caliginous waters, filth,” Karkat spat back with bared fangs, “and I will show your kind no mercy!” With an enraged howl, he twisted in John’s grasp, fighting to free his arms, to turn the tides back in his favor. He bucked and gnarred, tossing his head with a threatening hiss as finally Karkat tore his wrist free of John’s grasp, instantly lashing out at John’s face and slapping him across the cheek with the back of his hand.

The world stopped for a second for John, his brain trying to catch up as his cheek subsided from the sharp pain to low throbbing. He slapped him. He just got slapped by Karkat. His irritation got the better of him and John slapped him back, full palm. It wasn't with full force, but retaliation none the less. He quickly recaptured his wrist and forced it back against the floor.

Re-pinned, the troll fell victim to that same traumatism, and he stared up at John in wide-eyed disbelief, nose crinkled in a half-snarl and pupils constricted. He panted heavily as the momentary stunned lull allowed him the opportunity to catch his breath. For a moment, Karkat slipped out of character and was in full shock that John would actually strike him. The hit itself hadn’t been too bad, mostly sound and less force; his jaw barely even stung. Still he was rendered paralyzed for a transient moment before things really started to sink in and he subconsciously slipped back into character. John had reciprocated his wordless black-rom advances.

 “You’ll regret that, vile scum.”

John snorted at him, tightening his grip; he knew Karkat would soon try for another escape, so he braced against him and hoped to at least not get completely thrown off. Having such a powerful troll captured beneath him, John dared a smirk, enjoying the sight of a flustered boyfriend. Karkat had slipped from rage to a more natural look of annoyance, one that John found familiar. Just the way Karkat’s hair was jostled and his cheeks flushed from the struggle started a fire in John.

As John squeezed his wrists, Karkat narrowed his eyes, grinding his teeth and snapping his fangs as agitation smoldered in his gut, boiling as it converted over from anger into something more passionate. Something darker. A low growl rolled in the back of Karkat’s throat and his muscles tensed before thrashing with all his might in John’s grasp.

“Shit-” John grunted as his hold weakened, laboring to keep him restrained, but as another hand broke loose to attack his face, he turned toward the attack and caught the hand, biting on his fingers. He only clenched his jaw when Karkat attempted to pull away, and he took care to use more of his back teeth, not wanting to pierce his skin.

When twisting his hand in an attempt to pull free worked to no effect, Karkat clenched his jaw and yanked as fast and hard as he could. He tore his hand free of John’s bite, ripping his knuckles on the human’s blunt teeth and dragging his bleeding fingers purposefully across John’s lips and cheek as he pulled away. In a flash his grip had moved to John’s throat, and Karkat jammed his thumb up into the soft skin under his captor’s jaw in an attempt to force him back.

A low whine emitted from John’s throat. Dipping his chin down and widening his mouth, John caught the space between his thumb forefinger and bit down, hoping to scare him off from attacking his neck again. John crawled forward to kneel on his hips, not able to balance with Karkat's thrashing legs.

Karkat reacted by grabbing the sides of John’s mouth with his thumb and forefinger and squeezing until it was forced open. With his one hand free and all of John’s weight shifted onto his body, Karkat had full control over John’s center of gravity, and with a quick kick against the ground, he rolled over, shoving John down and climbing on top of him. With lips pulled back and fangs showing, the troll made another guttural growl as he pinned John’s wrists above his head, placing his weight on top of them to keep them steady. His face was only inches from John’s, and with a feral grunt, Karkat dove in, mashing his lips fiercely against John’s, clicking teeth and biting his lip fervently.

Taken aback, John breathed out against the other's face through his nose and automatically pressed his tongue against Karkat's lip, caressing it. It was his natural reaction to locking lips, and he almost broke character to begin a hearty make-out. But with his unsharpened nails digging into his wrists with so much pressure it made them ache, he snapped back to the moment and bucked his hips, breaking their kiss long enough for him to gently bump his forehead against Karkat’s.

Shaking his head, Karkat glowered down at him, squeezing his wrists tighter. “Don’t resist, human. You want my hate; I’ll give it to you.” Without further warning, Karkat dove back in, biting urgently at John’s lips and quickly forcing his tongue into John’s mouth as their lips mashed together. A shuddering growl clicked in the back of his throat, and Karkat clenched John’s wrists in his fists, digging his nails into the skin as he pushed into his mouth.

John shook his hands, not actually enjoying his wrists hurting this much. He whined irritably into Karkat's lips, wriggling beneath him. With his legs still free, he pulled his knees back and dug them mercilessly into the scars he knew were on his ribs, concealed under his royal garb.

With the new surge of pain shaking up his spine, Karkat let out a yelp of discomfort, and slightly loosened his death-grip on John’s wrists, but refused to give up his position of power. He growled possessively and continued to ravage John’s mouth with teeth and tongue, doing his best to ignore the ache of John’s assault on his tender grub scars.

Going for a different tactic, John pressed his toes to Karkat's thighs, sliding them down the sleek material of his pants to the decorative plates covering his knees. With the attacker kneeling on the bare floor, John kicked hard, making Karkat loose his balance and fall flat against his pelvis, laying their bodies flush together.

Grunting with surprise Karkat broke the kiss to give his captive a stern glare before taking advantage of the new position and pushing himself up in between John’s legs. With a throaty growl, Karkat dug his fingernails gently into John’s wrists and leaned down towards his ear. “You are mine, John Egbert human. My property. My own. You are mine to loathe. Nobody else in the universe can have you and you will never be free.”

It was hard for John to suppress a lusty moan as his matesprit ground on him and verbally seduced him, but doing so would spell his surrender. It was overly dominating, but the message was one he treasured, wanting to be claimed and claim Karkat himself. The show had to go on, as they said, so defiantly he turned his head towards the tyrant's flushed ear and whispered, “never.” With that he bit down on the sensitive tip.

Yelping and snarling, the troll found the point of his ear far too tender to pull away like he had with his knuckles and he growled in frustration. His fingertips trembled against John’s wrists as the human held him captive by the corner of his ear. Furiously, he lifted John’s wrists and slammed them back down on the floor, trying to rouse a reaction from him if only to loosen his jaw.

Humming into his cartilage, John blew hot air though his teeth to fill his ear with noise. With the upper hand, John took the moment to bring his feet up around Karkat's hips, digging his toes into the formal sash draped around him, pulling it downward over his rump.

As the bright tyrian sash began to slide down off his waist, Karkat’s hips leaned back, trying to keep it from slipping too low to little avail as John tugged it further. Still prisoner of John’s teeth, Karkat groaned and clenched his own jaw, trying again to pull free, only earning himself more pain and producing a frustrated growl. In a last ditch effort to get his ear free, he rocked his hips down, grinding purposefully against John’s crotch in hopes of eliciting a gasp. Anything to get his teeth apart.

Toes curling amongst rich fabric, John stifled a pitiful whimper and let go of his bargaining chip, gnawing on his own lip instead. He quickly finished off the garment, letting his legs fall against the ground and then squeeze Karkat’s, his member steadily growing from the attention. He couldn’t fight it anymore, all of the rough play was getting him excited.

Free of John’s grip, the troll let out a victorious chirrup before leaning down to nip at John’s lip again. He didn’t stay at John’s mouth long, and quickly moved down to his neck, licking a hot trail up his captive’s throat and biting down gently at the juncture of neck an jaw, just enough to hurt but not enough to bleed.

 “Mine,” he growled against soft skin. “You are mine. Surrender, human. Give up. Give yourself over to me. You are mine to hate. My pet. My property. My toy. Mine!”

With Karkat's teeth to his skin, their loins joined and his hands held tenderly in the other's, John rocked his head to the side, not helping how much he was loving this feeling. Still soaking up how great it all felt, he was able to slip in and play his role. “Mine, mine, mine,” he rasped, “heh... you sound like a possessive child.”

“And you sound like a snotty brat,” Karkat growled against his neck, finding a new spot and biting again, a little harder this time. “I will be as possessive as I damn well please, you undignified piece of shit. You. Are. Mine. And I will have you.” Sealing his lips around the skin of John’s neck, Karkat sucked on it and growled, working the distinct spot until it was bright red. “See? Mine.”

The act made John wince and chuckle, and he even rubbed his legs against Karkat's. “Ha ha, who thought the leader of a so-called fearsome race would be so infantile? With that theory, I own you. I made you bleed.”

With a growl, Karkat sacrificed the secure position he had, releasing one of John’s wrists to press his still bleeding hand to John’s forehead. With an aggressive hiss, Karkat shoved his bangs back, and pushed his head down onto the floor, releasing his bite to lean into John’s ear again. “A worthless little subcreature like you could never possess me. Know your place, maggot.”

“Oh, I know my place, and it's not under you!” He spat back, taking the opportunity to reach up and grab the ear he had bitten, squeezing it to pull his head away. He wrapped his legs around again and repeated the maneuver before, rocking Karkat over to straddle him before tugging his head to the floor. With his hand still in Karkat's tight grasp, he pressed both of their arms into the tyrant's throat, enough to hold his head in place.

Karkat hissed vehemently in response, but the sound was cut short as John pressed down on his windtube. Bearing his teeth before grinding them resentfully, Karkat reached with his free hand and quickly snatched up a fist full of John’s hair, giving it a sharp yank back and to the side in hopes of forcing him off again.

Grunting, John let Karkat tug him around as he butting his forearm up against his chin. “What's the matter, alien? Can't take a challenge?”

“You are a worthless, insufferable piece of shit and I am going to personally annihilate every human creature you hold dear before I destroy your fucking precious planet.” With a choked snarl, the troll tried to push back to no avail as John leaned back down against his throat to shut him up. Again Karkat clawed at John’s scalp and yanked at his hair, arching up underneath him in a halfhearted attempt to unbalance him.

But this time John was having none of it, narrowing his eyes at the threatening enemy. “How are you gonna do that when I've got you here? I told you, I won't lie down so easily.” Just by having a sheer weight advantage, he kept Karkat pinned and used his free hand to investigate his headpiece, slipping it back off his forehead. “What power do you uphold here?”

“I have the control of the greatest warfleet the universe has ever seen at my fingertips,” he gnarred, demonstrating by dragging his fingernails mercilessly down the back of John’s neck and across his shoulder blade. “You can’t possibly believe you can keep me here forever, and if you do, you’re even more of a brainless shitsponge than I originally assumed.”

John hisses at the scratching, feeling the white streaks turn to bright red against his flesh. “I have the ability and authority to take you hostage, your royal asshole. We humans are just as resourceful. Your armies are useless here. It's just you and me.” Symbolically he removed the headpiece and looked at the golden circlet, showing off his prize before throwing it across the room.

A feral growl rumbled in Karkat’s throat as his circlet was tossed aside. “You’ll regret that,” Karkat snarled, still fighting for breath, “I’ll make sure you regret it. I’ll make you regret everything.” His blunted claws found their way back up John’s back and over his shoulder, digging in and dragging purposefully down the vulnerable skin of his chest.

Wincing as his skin prickled and burned, he snatched the emperor’s hand quickly, lacing their fingers to slam his hand down next to his head. “You're insufferable,” John grumbled, glaring down at the troll. “I think you're nothing but talk.”

“You’re not much more that a shitty sack of hot air yourself,” Karkat bit back, fighting against John’s grip. Glowering up at him with savage intensity, Karkat wrenched his wrist in John’s grasp and thrashed violently underneath him, his growl growing in volume until his voice was a low, frenetic roar. “I swear on every drop of blood in your fucking body I will make you drink my hate like poison you loathsome, miserable wretch!”

John smirked triumphantly for a moment, but dropped his smile as Karkat continued to convulse and scream at him until he'd had enough. He leaned harder into his forearm and cut off his rant, gripping his fingers tight. “All. Talk.”

In spite of his best efforts, with his windtube compressed, Karkat could offer no scathing retort. He instead gripped back at John’s palm, digging his fingernails into the back of his hand and glowering menacingly up at John with seething ire. Hissing through is teeth, Karkat arched and snarled and bucked his hips up against John’s with fruitless exasperation.

John savored the victory well, but took the ebb in their game to check up on the star of the night. “You okay, K? Can you breathe?”

Karkat groaned viciously back, unwilling to break character but still showing he was very much in control of his breathing. Narrowing his eyes, he showed John his teeth and arched his back up off the ground with a wrathful grunt, pressing up against his captor with his pelvis again.

A breathy sigh came from the relieved boy, rolling into a moan as his tender groin was rubbed again. Getting back to business, John leaned down to hover over Karkat's heated face, staring him down. “Where is your great power now? Your vast armies? If you can't take me on, how do you think you can annihilate a whole planet? Unless you're one of those cowards who hides behind their masses.”

“I don’t need great physical strength to be a great leader,” Karkat retorted with a defiant hiss, “unlike your brutish species, I don’t have to be biggest to prove I’m the best. I was born superior and a single ounce of my blood is worth more than an ocean of yours.”

Karkat grimaced as his throat was pressed into again and struggled against John’s weight a moment, shifting him, but not throwing him off, whether by choice or not was still unclear. Rolling his eyes, again he bucked up against John, finding that for now it was the only way to rouse a reaction from him.

Grunting at the jousting of their hips, John sucked in his lips. “If you could deliver on your threats, I'd be more convinced. But all you've done so far is scream and hiss and scratch. I'm willing to do anything I have to, but laying down for an unworthy adversary isn't an option. We want peace, you bloodthirsty lunatic. I was sent here to negotiate, not to be disrespected by the likes of you. I'm not a toy or property, and I'm sure as hell not gonna act like it.”

Karkat was quiet and, for a moment, John wasn’t at all sure whether it was because his air was being cut off or because he legitimately didn’t have a retort. Still the pinned troll was able to pin him back with a fierce glare. Finally Karkat’s voice came in a deep rumble like distant thunder, low and impending.

“You’re so fucking annoying. Why don’t you just shut up and _fuck_ me already?”

“Wha...” John lost his edge, getting knocked back by the sudden bluntness of his captive. “Why would I do that? We're here to negotiate, not romp. God, are all of your people as perverted as you?”

Karkat rasped a chuckle and clicked his teeth at his captor. “Don’t play coy ‘cause you’ve be caught in the act. You’ve been soliciting me caliginously with every hateful word and every spiteful action.” His eyes flashed ferociously and his smirk returned to a stern scowl. “You’re even holding me down and forcing me to fucking hate you, so fucking do something about it for fuck’s sake!” He arched again, grinding against John’s crotch and groaning at the friction it caused.

“I... you... what?!” John loosened his grasp and quickly crawled away. He gave himself a few feet as he stood up and brushes himself off. “I've been defending myself and my people, and you think I've been flirting?! What kind of messed up... no. No, forget it. Obviously you're out of your mind and can't be reasoned with.”

“You are not backing out of this now, you fickle shit!” The troll snapped, sitting up and eventually hauling himself to his feet. Putting a hand over his throat, Karkat felt relieved that he could finally breathe normally if nothing else. “You want to fucking negotiate? Here are my terms. Quit being a flaky assmunch, fuck me, and we’ll see about not destroying your shitty planet.”

“You're insane,” John shot back, “that's the most ludicrous thing I've - what are you doing?”

With a loud clank, about an arm’s worth of gold bracelets and bangles clattered to the floor, followed quickly by the other arm’s worth. Karkat didn’t reply immediately as he smoothed his palms over his own bare arms and advanced towards John with slow, purposeful steps. “I’m not insane. You’ve been giving me the black-rom runaround and I’m fucking sick of it. You didn’t seem too aversely opposed to fucking for the safety of your planet when you stripped down to you briefs.” Karkat’s lip arched and he gave John an irate snarl. “The fact still remains that you’re on my ship orbiting your planet, and you will not be leaving without my say-so.”

Taking steps back to match Karkat's, John rubbed his arms similarly, remembering how he previously acted. He had switched up his role from obedient servant to brash soldier, and now he had to cover his ass. “I was willing to entertain your strange games by stripping, but by no means was I ever intent on submitting. You are not the only species that has war tactics. And make no mistake that I am prepared to fight my way out of here if a truce cannot be met. Now stop with this absurd notion that I'm here for a romp and be serious!”

“I am serious,” he glowered, continuing to stalk forward. “There is one easy way to get out of this, John Egbert human. Though you are right that there are other ways to conduct this meeting, I’m afraid they all end in your death, coupled with mass genocide. Whether you manage to capture or kill me, my second in command has explicit orders to move in and destroy the planet below if I am compromised.” Karkat continued to pace forward, training John in a look of intent and eyeing him up and down. “Fight me all you want. Pour your hate though my veins. I don’t care whether you obey me just so long as you _fuck_ me.”

Having to change course since he was nearing a wall, John stumbled over clothes while still keeping a few feet between them. “There has to be another way. One where we can act like mature adults and not engage in weird interspecies sex,” he grumbled, tripping over his pants and falling into his magic trunk, recovering quickly and jumping back to regain his barrier.

“You’re waning on my hate and trying my patience, human. Trading one diplomat for another doesn’t faze me. Consider yourself lucky that you made it this far. Do you know how many diplomats like you I jettisoned back to earth in corpse boxes?” He scoffed and continued to advance, reaching behind himself to unfasten his many gold necklaces and let them fall to the floor, one by one. “Seventeen.” Putting up his foot, Karkat shoved the magic chest out of his way. “Be thankful you meet my standards, and trust me when I say the lines of discussion will not be open until I’ve had my release.”

“Then release yourself you- ah!” Not calculating his direction, John ran into the edge of the bed and fell back. He grabbed the sheets to try and pull himself away, but too late Karkat had reached him.

“That’s not how this works, boy,” Karkat growled as he shoved John back down onto the bed and climbed up on top of him, pinning John’s hands again and wedging himself up between his legs. “If I was going to do it myself, I wouldn’t need you here, now would I?” He hissed, bowing down to press his lips to his captive’s neck, sucking on the purple mark he’d left earlier. “We can negotiate for the survival of your filthy planet after I’ve had my fill of you. That’s my final offer.”

John hissed and groaned lightly at the dull throbbing in his neck, the sharp teeth prodding the sore muscles beneath. “Wait,” John murmured, “.... If I cooperate, you spare my planet. If I have your word... I'll submit. On my honor, I swear.”

“That’s not how this works,” Karkat growled back defiantly. “I don’t want you to roll over and take it. I want you to hate me every step of the way, and when it’s over and done with we’ll _discuss_ sparing your planet.” He grazed his fangs down John’s throat to his collar bone. “But I promise you, my satisfaction here and now will directly correlate to the fate of your world.”

Sucking in a breath to keep another moan down, John closed his eyes as he tried to accept the proposal. The story was he was ordered to do _whatever_ was necessary to appease the warlord, and they meant whatever. He nodded and relaxed his arms that had been strained against his tight hold. “Well... this is going to be difficult with your clothes still on, your royal pain-in-the-ass.”

Leaning back slightly, Karkat narrowed his eyes with skepticism before dragging his fingernails down John’s forearms as he released his wrists. “Then why don’t you fucking do something about it?” He dared, eyes flashing harshly as the fingers of one hand found their way from John’s arm to his hair, combing it back and tugging it harshly.

He pulled back his arms and used the leverage to sit up, pushing the tyrant back until he was sitting in John’s lap. With an irritable sigh, John placed his hands on either side of the troll's waist, gliding up under his elegant sleeveless top, letting it gather around his wrists as he ran his fingers over grey flesh.

Taking a risk, Karkat closed his eyes and grunted as the hands slipped up his skin; it was annoyingly gentle. “What’s the matter now,” he growled irately, “already resigned yourself to the tenderness of your weak human nature?” Karkat’s eyes opened and stared down at John, bright red with constricted pupils. “What happened to that roguish defiance and fire-breath? Was your seething hate replaced so quickly with submissive cowardice when you knew you were bested?”

He ignored the taunt until the garment had reached his shoulders, and turned the table by wrenching it up around his arms and face, entrapping him in the cloth. Snickering, John's hand found his bright red grub scars and pressed into the top slots with his thumbs, leaning forward to chomp at his collarbone.

Karkat’s back bowed forward as John dug into his vulnerable sides. With an enthusiastic growl, he nearly tore the shirt the rest of the way off, tossing it aside just in time for John to sink his teeth into his clavicle again. Karkat flinched and groaned as John’s fingers dug in deep to his sensitive scars, rutting his hips against John’s. With his hands free, he quickly took up two fistfuls of his captive’s dark hair, yanking his mouth away from his collarbone and craning his head back. With an aggressive growl, Karkat dove in, mashing his mouth against John’s and eagerly biting his lip.

Holding his own by working his jaw against the other's, John scratched his fingers into the second and third masses of knotted flesh. He was able to pull his lip from the clamp of Karkat's teeth, tasting a hint of metal and a twinge of pain. He stuck his tongue into Karkat's mouth, brushing the roof of his maw before jutting his hips up.

A low growl rumbled into the assertive kiss as Karkat continued to tug John’s sleek, black tresses and kiss him fervently. As the human’s fingers dug into his soft, exposed flesh, the troll groaned and rutted back against his hip and nipped at John’s tongue. Karkat released his prisoner’s hair in favor of running his fingernails down the back of John’s neck, adding to the red scratches already there, grazing over the sore marks, and clawing around to the front of his chest.

John arched to the touch, chewing on Karkat's lip as he tore at his pectorals. He wasn't really one for this rough kind of foreplay, his skin itching and burning from the torture. But he knew Karkat loved it, so he broke away swiftly and attacked his exposed neck, digging his bucked teeth into the fading bruise he had left before.

With a sharp gasp, Karkat shivered as John bit down on his neck, drinking in the rough attention and reciprocating readily. Karkat’s blunt claws scraped their way down John’s exposed chest, stopping just above his sensitive nipples and quickly switching over to his fingertips. Role-play or not, he knew John wouldn’t forgive him for treating him too coarsely, so rather that scratching over the sensitive nubs, he rubbed them with his fingertips, growling a bit to show he still meant business.

Breath hitching, John suckled the tender circle, gnawing it harder as he remembered his boyfriend’s pain threshold. He was strong and liked the ‘good pain’, so John copied Karkat and dug his nails in, working back to his shoulders before dragging deep streaks into his spine.

Circling John’s nipples with the pads of his thumbs, Karkat let a growl rumble in his chest. “Stop being so gentle, damn it. I’m not your fucking matesprit. I want it harder.” He pinched at John’s nubs with a little more strength than was comfortable if only to get the message across. His back arched and his hips bucked as fingernails scratched their way down thick, gray skin.

John cursed under his breath and growled into his contusion, leaning back to take in less of his flesh and instead bit hard into a sliver of skin, pinching it between his front teeth. He scratched his way down to the edge of his slim pants, gouging his thumbs into his hips to hold him while he yanked him hard to meet groins. He humped up into the complaining troll, hoping his meager attempts at wounding Karkat were enough.

The growl shifted tones for a moment, slipping dangerously close to ‘needy moan’ territory before Karkat again regained control of his faculties. “Fuck you, Egbert human,” he breathed, voice harsh and shaky. “Fuck you, and fuck your entire wretched planet. Just fuck me.” Fingertips slipped away from John’s nipples, and fingernails scratched against the lower half of his exposed pectorals. “I want to choke on your venom. Show me how malign you can be.” With that, he ground back against John’s crotch, pulling a sharp keen from his own throat.

John groaned crossly into his bite, not knowing what else he could do. Thinking harder, a smile crept into his lips. “So eager to be dominated, huh? That sounds like weakness to me...” Keeping his thumbs dug deep into his pelvic bone, John's nimble fingers dove under his waistband to begin work on removing the costume.

“I’m not asking to be dominated,” Karkat barked, biting back a throaty moan as John dug into his hips with his fingernails. “I’m just sick of you being so fucking gentle. If dominating me will get you to shut up and quit acting like I’m not begging you to fucking fight me, then do it! Quit all this namby-pamby fucking around.” The only reason, Karkat reassured himself, John wasn’t bleeding right now was because he was holding back. After all, this was just a role-play; he didn’t actually hate John and he didn’t want John to hate him. Still, dabbling in blackrom felt… good. There wasn’t any good way to describe it. That so long unfilled caliginous quadrant being stroked _roughly_. It made him want so bad to make a mess of things.

All of Karkat’s demands and constant goading were wearing thin, and the constant badgering wasn't helping John. “You want a fight,” he huffed, tightening his grip until his fingers hurt, “then why didn't you say so?” Without warning his lover, John threw him off and charged after him, slamming them both into the wall. His hands now had clamped on both of Karkat’s biceps, returning his mouth to the perfect hickie he'd created and bit down with malice.

The rush left Karkat dazed, and he stumbled before being shoved up against the wall, gasping as his warm, bare skin was pressed into cold steel. His head knocked against the wall with a low clang, and Karkat groaned while he fought to get his vision back into focus. When finally he could see straight, John was already biting down on his neck, mercilessly tormenting the dark red bruise there. With an amused growl, Karkat did his best to reciprocate within the bounds of their role-play. He scratched his fingernails down John’s back; he wanted so badly to dig in with his full force, to cut perfect claw marks down John’s back, but he settled for the temporary red lines, not wanting to spoil the moment. Keening, Karkat arched and pressed back against his mate wantonly, showing how good the violent treatment really felt.

John bit harder and scattered his bites, running all along that side of his neck, thinking how his handiwork was so perfect it should be framed. John challenged himself to color his whole neck that way, one chomp at a time. He jabbed his thumbs into Karkat's arms, bowing in his back to escape the painful scrapes.

Taking the hint, Karkat let up, changing over blunt claws for soft fingertips as he dragged his digits down John’s sides. He grunted and moaned and bucked against John as he assaulted his neck, biting and sucking the durable skin without mercy. He wanted to fully reciprocate, to fight John back and hurt him the way two trolls are supposed to in a proper kismesissitude, but still he held back for his lover’s sake. This was still only play. He growled with satisfaction as his mate gnawed at the crook of his neck, his entire throat throbbing wonderfully with bite marks and bruises.

Snarling into his throat, John mauled him with sloppy teething, testing the new method out. His left hand flew from his arm to grab Karkat's chin, forcing his head back to bang against the wall. He even ventured a leg between the troll's shaking thighs, crushing his knee into the other's crotch.

With a yelp, Karkat gripped John’s flanks tight in his fingertips, fighting the urge to dig in his claws. The sharp pain only further fueled his fire, though, and the sound of surprise quickly ebbed into one of pleasure. Biting his tongue, Karkat cursed under his breath, soaking in the hateful treatment and despising every second of it with amorous loathing.

“Fucking… h-hate you,” he breathed as another tremulous groan bubbled up in his throat and he dug his fingers in against the small of John’s back.

John slipped his knee to the wall and moved it up until it almost took Karkat off his feet. The troll's body weight was now balanced in the crushing connection of his legs, forcing him up on the tips of his toes. John purred as he heard his lover fuss and squirm, nipping higher until he tasted cartilage.

With sharp grunt, Karkat scrabbled with his hands for anything to grasp, finally coming up with two handfuls of John’s rear. His fingers tugged the fabric of John’s briefs, bunching the cloth up in his grip. He teetered on his tiptoes, calves and thighs trembling as John lifted him with a strong knee. Arching, Karkat did his best to growl rather than whine, but the way the human hurt him drove him completely feral with need.

John smiled victoriously and grunted at the ass grab, licking the underside of Karkat's earlobe before seizing it in his teeth. He hummed into his bite, bouncing his leg once with a little help from windy powers. It unsteadied him and he almost lost his poise, but as his hand shot from Karkat's arm to the wall, he clamped harder and pinched harder than intended.

Karkat’s poorly-disguised keening quickly shifted to an angry yelp as John’s overbite dug into the soft skin of his ear and he crammed his knee up against his partially unsheathed bulge. A little roughness was more than welcome up top, and maybe below the belt when his bonebulge was still protectively in place. However, he honestly didn’t take kindly to getting racked in the groin when there wasn’t any sort of barrier. With a pained whine, Karkat’s knees buckled, and his hands flew from John’s rear to his leg, shoving it down and sagging forward slightly.

“Shit,” John grumbled as he shifted on his wobbling knee, almost making him slip again. John let go of his jaw to wrap an arm around the other's body, pulling him flush to him. He couldn't help but kiss the injured ear and whisper a “sorry” before returning to chewing on him. He pulled tight to squeeze Karkat's torso, scooting his hips up his leg the best he could.

“You… fucking s-suck at this,” Karkat managed to wheeze, hands finding their way back around John’s back to clutch at his shoulder blades. It was a bald-faced lie; in spite of the fact that his bulge was now throbbing in the really pretty painful sort of way, everything else John was doing, he was doing right. “H-hurry your ass up before I get f-fucking bluebulge.” Karkat tried his best to sound irate, he really did, but his growls were breathy and needy, and his fingertips slipped down and pressed into the small of John’s back with desire.

Lowering his knee while still keeping Karkat close, his fingers slid down from the wall and tangled themselves in a net of coarse hair. John began stepping back, forcing Karkat to follow. When John's knees finally hit mattress he lay back quickly to pull his boyfriend’s body along with him. “Get your pants off,” John croaked, scratching Karkat’s scalp roughly.

“Don’t fucking tell me what to do,” but he still did as he was instructed, slipping his thumbs underneath the tight, black leggings and pulling them down slowly. He shifted carefully, removing the golden bracers when the black fabric reached his knees, pushing the last of his costume all the way off and kicking it to the floor. Leaning in with a soft growl, Karkat pressed an open-mouthed kiss to John’s neck slipping his lips between John’s skin and his teeth before biting down. As he worked his mouth against the would-be diplomat’s throat, Karkat’s hands found his belly, pressing in and smoothing down softly tanned skin until his fingertips found John’s waistband. “Now you,” he grunted assertively.

“Mmm together?” John suggested, human hands having flocked to Karkat's protruding bum, fondling the soft material, silk maybe? His thumbs hooked in the elastic and barely nudged them down.

“Get on with it then,” Karkat grunted back with an irate glower, hooking his fingertips under the elastic of John’s briefs and tugging down. “I’m tired of all your fucking around. I just want to get to _fucking_ around.” His frown turned into a bit of a sneer as he tugged the waistband down a little further, the fabric hanging up on the tip of the human’s partially erect member.

John's hands shook as he tried to match him, sliding the tight, soft undergarment off of his butt, careful to let his fingers drag over Karkat’s tough skin. He brought the fabric to his knees, letting it hold his legs together. As his own briefs finally uncovered his package, he sighed and turned his head, taking his hands back to hold the sheets.

With a hum of satisfaction, Karkat kept pulling John’s briefs until they slipped all the way off his legs, tossing them aside before finishing off his own underpants. Smoothing his palms up John’s gently tanned thighs, Karkat glanced up at him with a victorious smirk, and was about to shoot the other a snide remark but hesitated, not liking the way John averted his gaze.

 “What’s the matter? Choosing now of all times to be bashful, human?”

“I told you this wasn't my area of expertise, asshole. And stop staring at it like that. It's creepy,” John grumbled, rolling his eyes before glaring up at the troll hovering over him.

With a gruff snort, Karkat’s lip twitched in annoyance. “Staring at you how, might I ask?” Karkat’s brow raised and his hands glided up from John’s inner thighs to his outer and up his lean legs, slipping into the smooth curve of his narrow hips.

“I don't know, like you're looking at me right now,” John huffed, watching him from the corners of his eyes, his hands gripping tighter beside him.

“And how am I staring at you?”  Leaning forward, Karkat smoothed his hands up from John’s hips, across his flanks, and strummed up his ribs. “Mmm. Answer me, human.” His voice had shifted from a domineering growl to a sultry purr.

“... Like an enemy across the battlefield, like you're deciding on your choice of attack or how you think you're going to kill me. It's very offsetting.” He breathing in deeply as callused hands caressed his warm skin.

“You don’t have to be my enemy,” Karkat murmured, bowing forward and pressing his lips to John’s sternum and exhaling a hot breath against his chest. “You can be my prey and let me hunt you. You can be my rival and hunt me for revenge. Hurt me, punish me, be whatever you want for me, just as long as I can have you now.”

Humming lightly, John wiped his brow before looking over his matesprit. “This is your stupid means of negotiation. I just want you to get what you need from this so the lines of peace are open. What do you want, tyrant?”

With a sultry growl, Karkat leaned forward, mouth traveling up John’s chest to his neck, mumbling against John’s throat as he continued to move up. “Mmm, you want to know what I want, human?” He smirked against John’s skin and nibbled at the joint of his jaw. “I want you to hate me, and I want you to enjoy it.” With a grunt, Karkat shifted, moving to capture John’s lips with his own.

Irritably groaning into the kiss, John's hands flew to grey shoulders, digging into his biceps with his stubby nails as his mouth was assaulted. He could taste the malice as teeth dug into his lips and tongue, or maybe it was just impatience. His actions were needy and rushed, so John ventured to gently wedge his knee up into Karkat's crotch, rubbing his exposed sex to coat his kneecap in sticky fluid.

With a low groan, Karkat flinched and buried his tongue in John’s mouth. His hips shuddered and ground against John’s knee wantonly, the tip of his bulge extending forward and curling readily as he rutted his nook against John’s thigh. Trilling softly into John’s mouth, Karkat roughly caressed his captive’s flanks before finding a hold of the young man’s lean shoulders.

John tried his best to match the fierceness of his bites, but the familiarity of foreplay made him slip into old ways, sighing pleasantly as he turned his head to deepen their kiss. He slid his fingers from Karkat's left side to his back, pressing in the small of it to bring him closer, the alien sliding down his leg.

Hands slipping up from John’s shoulders to find his hair and grip it, Karkat fought desperately to disguise a needy keen as a domineering growl. With a soft grunt into the kiss, Karkat rocked his hips against the joint between the human’s thigh and pelvis, grinding fervently against him as his bulge fully extended and coiled against John’s warm skin. Leaning back slightly, Karkat broke the kiss long enough to breathe hot words against his lover’s lips. “I hate you so fucking much.”

With his hand drifting over grey skin, John pet his boyfriend until he thieved a grab at Karkat's bare ass, squeezing him while still pulling hard to keep him close. He bit his own lip as his thigh chafed his now firm cock, completely ready to move on from all of this foreplay. Still holding tight to his boyfriend’s rear, his other hand snuck in to hold himself, pumping his erection between them.

Karkat leaned back with a hiss, shoulders hunching as he shifted to sit up and straddling his lover’s thigh. “Fuck,” he grunted, scratching his fingernails over John’s shoulders, “quit fucking fondling yourself, you selfish shit, and put your human bulge to some good fucking use.” Baring his teeth, he hissed and rolled his hips against John again.

“Well give me some direction! All you've done is rut and moan, so for all I know this is what you want. Should I...” Relinquishing his grip on his own sex to touch the other's curiously, his fingers wrapped around the wriggling tentacle.

“Fuck,” Karkat’s hips twitched into John’s hand and shuddered in his grasp. “I’m so fucking done with all these pleasantries, Egbert. Quit this asinine bullshit and _fuck_ me!” Karkat grunted and bucked his hips against John’s fingers, actions slightly counteracting his demands.

Thoroughly frustrated, John's fingers clenched around delicate bulge, jerking it slightly. Underneath it, Karkat’s nook glistened, and John glared at it with faux-suspicion. “There?”

The rough treatment of his bulge caused Karkat to lean his head back and choke out a poorly suppressed moan. “F-fuck yes,” he hissed, thighs trembling as he angled his hips forward slightly, showing the bright, candy-red folds of his nook, wet and eager.

“Then sit right,” John growled, now taking the seat of power with the warlord's tender bulge in his grasp. He pulled again, coaxing him to straddle him properly. Without protest, Karkat lifted his leg and shifted to kneel over John’s pelvis. Biting his lower lip, Karkat moved his hips with the tug of his bulge, relinquishing full control to John.

Guiding him over, John held his own erection again, stroking it greedily a few times before placing the head at Karkat’s warm entrance, prodding it playfully while he watched his mate squirm. “Well come on now, I'm right here. Come and get me.”

Dragging his blunted claws down John’s chest, Karkat carefully lowered himself down onto John’s shaft as far as he could, stopping only when the tip pressed against his seedflap. His gasp caught in his throat, shoved aside to make way for a coarse moan.  “Fu-fuck!” He grunted, rolling his hips slightly, grinding the human’s dick against his sensitive insides.

With his legs dangling off of the bed from his knees, John lay back flat and ground his teeth, watching his lover engulf him. “Shhhhiiiiit,” he hissed, still holding his other sex hostage. He ran his thumb over the clenching bulge, the pitiful thing holding tight to him for support.

Fingernails digging into John’s ribs, the troll shifted his weight and rocked his hips before lifting up and sliding back down with a strained groan. He trembled, and his bulge tightened around John’s manipulative fingers as the thick tip of John’s cock pressed against the ridged roof of his nook, stimulating his nerves and sending pleasure surging up his spine.

As Karkat clenched around him, John ran his tongue along his teeth, observing this awesome spectacle before him. “Mmmm, you like that?” He managed to goad, running his thumb along the slick organ that constricted to his touch.

Karkat’s response was a throaty groan he tried very hard to force into being a growl. Rolling his hips again, Karkat breathed out an airy moan, digging his fingernails into John’s skin as his whole body shuddered.

“Mmm, ohh. F-fuck. Fuck you, lazy piece of sh-shit. I don’t s-see you fuckin doing any of the d-damn work.” Biting his lip, the emperor arched his back slightly, rocking against his lover and forcing John to grind into him with beautifully hot sparks of friction.

“You seem to be-shhhh... doing fine on your own-ah! Mmmm that's good,” he replied, tugging gently on the captured bulge as Karkat rode him as if the bright red tentacle were a leash. “Don't whine... it's most unbecoming.”

Bearing his teeth with a frustrated hiss, Karkat let a clicking growl resonate in his chest as he rocked down onto John again, each movement, each push grinding nerves on hot nerves and filling his senses with white hot sparks of pleasure. For a moment Karkat was too wrapped up in the bliss he’d lost all ability to retort, but after a momentary pause he turned his head to look John dead in the eye.

“I don’t even think I’ll be cumming if this is all you’re willing to put out. I might as well be doing it alone.”

“Well if you weren't so headstrong and p-pushy, nnn... I could show you a thing or two. I might even enjoy myself,” John sneered. “There's a bit too much p-pressure on me, you know 'please me or the Earth dies'... kinda a mood killer. And what'ssssss mmm shit! Ah what's this 'hate' shit?”

“Well what the fuck did you sssssssssssh! expect? All your pretentious bullshit and caliginous solicitation, how could I not hate you madly?” With a low growl, the troll rocked his hips again, as deep as he could manage. “You’re a defiant and self-righteous asshole, and you’ve made it very clear you reciprocate my hate. Why question it now?”

“I mmmm feel nothing for you. I'm j-just doing my job,” John teased, putting on as stoic of a front as he could with an attractive boyfriend riding his cock. He huffed through his nose as nails cut into his chest, little red lines drawn into his flesh. “Fuck... I meant, why would you fuck someone you hate?”

“You’re so inf-furiating, John,” Karkat rasped as his body shuddered, “you make me seethe with anger until I’m fucking hot and I just… fu-huuuuck… just want to fuck that smug asshole look off your face.” Rocking his hips in a quick rhythm, Karkat groaned and his thighs trembled with the effort of keeping his pace. “I hate you so much I want to claim you – mark you as my quarry and be your only hunter.” His voice momentarily pitched towards a desperate whine as he pushed down, burying John’s cock deep inside himself until it ground against his most sensitive insides. “Why fuck someone y-you pity? To bring them pleasure and h-happiness. Why fuck s-someone you hate? To derive pleasure from them.”

Seeing the loathing smoldering in his red eyes, John slipped out of character to marvel at his matesprit. He'd never seen this look before, a desire that was familiar, but not matched with his usual expressions. Before, what the human had to guess was pity and love made Karkat's eyes soft, deep, devoted. It made his face glow, and it made John's heart light up. But this was equally captivating, still a stare of want and lust, but it was cutting and calculated, analytical. A stare down that broke him down into usable components. It was offsetting, but as Karkat lowered his eyelids, John's heart warmed to his realization; _he might just want to take what he wants, but he wants it from me_. With a light snort John brought back his free hand to lean on his elbow, sitting up with his lover. His occupied fingers closed in around his bulge, squeezing it in his fist while he closed in on the tyrant's neck to gnaw.

“Well you hateful thing you,” he whispered before closing his lips around the crook of his neck, covering over the stained skin.

As John bit down, Karkat froze up a moment and gasped before his hips fell back into work. With a wanton groan, he reached from John’s chest to wrap his arms around to his back, scratching at John’s spine and carving more temporary red lines down tan skin. His rhythm faltered a moment and Karkat keened softly, picking up the pace with desperate need, his tempo becoming more erratic as his thighs wore down. Clutching at John’s back, Karkat managed to pant his mate’s name, scattered in with a few breathy expletives as he rode his matesprit’s cock.

Feeling more confident, John rolled his fingers over his hot captive, keeping up his end as Karkat struggled to keep going. “Getting tired, your highness?” John purred into his throat, now feeling the other lean back into his arm for stability. “If you'll lie down for me, I can fix that.”

Karkat let out a growl of protest, but as another shaky pass against his lover gave him a weaker does of pleasure than the last, he relented with a begrudging whine. “Don’t sound s-so smug. I’ve been doing your fu-fucking job this whole shhhhhh… huh… time.” He tried to put bite behind the words, but weak desperation was already edging into his voice. He wanted it so bad, he just needed a little more. “Just huh… hurry the fuck up about it.”

Snickering and planting a kiss before retracting, John strengthened his hold on the troll, stilling him. “Hold onto me or get off. We're moving.”

With a quiet gasp, Karkat swallowed hard and quickly tightened his grip on John’s back, digging in his fingernails for an anchor. As their weight shifted, Karkat bit back a yelp as everything shifted inside as well.

John hugged his partner tight as he lay back as gently as he could, ending up bouncing on the mattress. He groaned at the transition, his own loins clenched and jousted in the process. Taking a second he rolled the two of them, putting Karkat on his back, crushed under John's weight. Parting them was trickier than expected, Karkat’s grip and their positions making it hard to maneuver. Still, somehow John stood up off the bed, barely keeping the head of his cock inside.

Laid back and sprawled out over John’s bed, Karkat allowed himself to be stunned for a moment before letting his thighs finally relax. His legs dangled off the bed, and John stood, looming over him with just a teasing presence inside his nook. Karkat turned his head to the side, moving a hand up to his mouth and quickly sinking his teeth in to the knuckle. “Fuck,” Karkat quietly cursed against his fingers, as his eyes shifted to glare irefully up at him.

A breathy chuckle passed through John's teeth as he soaked in the view – a flustered boyfriend just waiting for him. He tried to disentangle his fingers from the troll's constricting sex, but it refused to relinquish its hold. Instead, he bowed forward to grab Karkat's decorated shoulder, using that and the bulge as holds to pull Karkat forward. “Scoot.”

Pain bloomed up through his skin as John roughly handled his abused shoulder, and Karkat moaned softly. Doing his best to obey the command, Karkat arched his back and used the side of the bed as leverage against his heels as his legs pulled himself to the edge of the mattress. His thighs trembled with exhaustion and hung limp of the sides, and Karkat turned his head to stare up at John with an expression of defiance, silently telling him this was by no means his surrender.

Narrowing his eyes, John playfully slapped his thigh. “Up up. Hold them if you have to.” To further his command, he grabbed one of the alien's tired legs and forced it up, pushing his knee towards his chest.

Swallowing and bearing his teeth in a weak snarl, Karkat did as he was told without much fuss, holding onto both his knees as he lifted his legs, pulling them apart just slightly. He would have offered up more fight, but half fuck-drunk there wasn’t much more protest left in him. As long as whatever John commanded him to do would get him off, he’d do it without much biting of the hand that fed him.

As John slowly realized Karkat was actually submitting, but not admitting it, he took advantage and jeered at the tiring troll. “Not so high and mighty now, huh? That's alright… I think I like you better this way. Docile looks good on you.” Slipping his hand down the back of his thigh, he reached around to his hip and pushed himself in, genetic material oozing out from around his dick.

“Don’t ss-start that shit,” Karkat hissed back, gripping his own knees with his fingernails and shuddering as John thrust in. “I’m not d-docile, shitwizard. I just don’t ha-have any reason to fight when you hah! Huh… give m-me what I want.” Karkat gritted his teeth in an attempt at keeping down a harsh moan, but as John rocked forward again, cock strumming against the gently ridged roof of his nook, his voice came forth, completely uncontrolled.

“But where.... mmm is the fun in that?” He pulled at the now tender bulge until it was taunt, lifting up both sex organs to drive himself deeper. He felt his head brush the back of Karkat's nook, leaving a few inches of his own member exposed. Skewing his mouth to the side, John dared to push further, packing himself inside the tight, warm orifice.

Karkat’s face shifted from its original mixture of pleasure and annoyance to one of shock and discomfort. His hips jerked and he let out a guttural groan, fingernails digging into his own knees as John pushed in past his seedflap. After the initial shock of unfamiliar pain subsided and Karkat managed to regain some semblance of vocal control, he jerked his hips and whined in protest. “F-fuck… John… nnnn… d-don’t.”

“Don't what? Stop?” He purred, pulling back an inch to then force himself in again, sucking on his bottom lip.

As the second push sent another jolt of pain up his spine, Karkat turned his head to the side, squeezing his eyes shut with an anguished yelp. “N-no! John… s-stop!” With a shudder, his hips jerked again and he made a quiet whimpering sound which grew quickly into a furious snarl. “I said stop, you pan-dry, moronic, shit-headed, vomitus, blathering, useless fucktool!”

His hands clenching on their respectful handholds, John growled and dug in his nails. “You told me to fuck you, so I am. You told me to be rough, I am! What do you WANT, you... pompous...” His voice lost its ferocity as he let his anger pass, making him stoop. Finally he sighed and loosened his grip all around, his head hanging. “What am I doing wrong, K?”

As John withdrew slightly and the pain of the forced entry past his seedflap subsided, Karkat’s uncomfortable expression faded, but he kept his gaze averted. He didn’t answer for what felt like ages, finally swallowing and clearing his hoarse throat. “That was t…” His voice trailed off and he hunched his shoulders, retreating slightly in a way John knew to indicate he was more embarrassed than anything else. “Fuck… I’m sorry…” Karkat’s eyes moved to stare up at John though he didn’t turn his head to face John full on. “I shouldn’t say one thing and do another but… fuck… that hurt…”

Huffing softly, John moved his hand from the troll's hip to his cheek, holding it as he leaned down to kiss his temple. “I'm sorry... I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sorry,” he whispered. He kept his lips pressed to his head for a time, thumbing the tentacle still clenching his fingers. “Kar I'm...... give me a word.”

“Hmm?” Karkat mumbled in confusion as he finally turned his head to look up at John, a bemused expression on his flushed face. “What do you mean, give you a word?”

“A word, any word... safe word. I... I'm not good at this hate stuff. Good pain and junk... I'm really terrible, Karkat.” John had lost his fire, his steam. Everything was building so fast and now he was afraid he'd burnt himself out. “That or we go slow... I'm sorry, I suck.”

“Shit,” Karkat mumbled, quickly draping his arms across John’s shoulders and pulling him in close in his best attempt at showing there was no harm and no foul. “No, I should have done a better job of talking this over with you,” he mumbled into the crook of John’s neck. With a slight tremor in his breath, Karkat sighed, letting the tension slip from his muscles as he let his grasp fall slack. “Paradox.”

“Okay,” John nodded, kissing Karkat's cheek again before removing himself, standing back up. He gingerly pulled out, groaning quietly as he also shook his hand to rid himself of the constricting organ. “I think we could use another approach, your highness. If you would... crawl to the middle.”

“The commander of the Alternian Empire does not crawl,” Karkat hissed, doing his absolute best to get back into character. He gave John an indignant look before doing as he was told and scooting back to the center of the bed, wriggling around until he was completely certain that he was comfortable.

“Now, pick a side. I'm going to lay next to you.” John brushed his bangs from his face with a clean hand, taking the second to look at his other. Karkat's fluid glistened on his fingers, and he made sure his lover was watching as he gave his digits a tender lick.

Nibbling his lower lip and swallowing as his lover lapped at the red smears across his fingers, Karkat shuffled slightly towards the wall, turning partially onto his side to face John. His ears trained forward with undisguised curiosity, as much as he tried to keep up a cross façade.

As Karkat settled, John placed a knee up to the bed and made his way over, taking his time as each limb moved one at a time. He tried not to put so much into it, not wanting to over-sexualize it and make it goofy. He did, however, give the warlord a few scans to show he was still interested. Reaching his side, John laid on his side and touched Karkat's exposed hip, sliding down to his thigh. He grabbed the muscle suddenly, pulling it towards himself to drape Karkat's leg over his own. “Com'ere.”

Karkat’s response was a devilish smirk and a possessive growl as he shimmied forward, wrapping his arms around John’s neck, plunging his fingers into pitch black hair, and pulling John in for an eager kiss. With a soft groan, Karkat allowed himself to be pulled flush against his matesprit, nipping with mock aggression at John’s lower lip. His blunted fingernails scratched gently across John’s scalp and down the back of his neck as Karkat let himself be drawn in again.

John scratched his way up to the troll's knee, holding his leg up as he ground his groin into the other's, feeling Karkat's bulge coiling beside his shaft. With a bit of wriggling the alien sex found him and wrapped around his cock, snaking around him until their tips were flush. John groaned lovingly into the other's mouth, pressing his other hand into the base of Karkat’s spine to jerk his hips up.

With a soft groan, Karkat’s back bowed into the touch, readily letting John’s palm guide him closer. His calf slipped around the back side of John’s warm thigh and the heel of his foot caught the crook of John’s knee, pulling that leg forward somewhat, catching the limb between his thighs. Karkat smiled slightly against John’s mouth, licking his lover’s lower lip before catching it between his teeth and giving it a playful tug. With a soft grunt, Karkat rolled his hips forward, sighing and releasing his hold of John’s lip to suck on it a bit as his bulge squeezed eagerly at the human’s cock.

With his leg up and bulge stationed above and out of the way, John knew his nook was wide open, the warm genetic material oozing out around his balls. Keeping Karkat's mouth occupied, he blindly dove his hand behind the troll and between his thighs until he found the dripping slit, pushing two fingers inside.

Quickly releasing John’s lip, Karkat sucked in a sharp breath, choking it back out in a throaty moan as the fingers shoved up into his nook, strumming up the sensitive roof and churning in his wet sex. Swallowing at the tail end of a groan, he desperately clutched at John, pulling him to his lips and moaning into an open-mouthed kiss. With a shiver, the tyrant rocked his hips forward, wedging himself up against John’s pelvis as his bulge gripped his matesprit tighter.

John tried to ignore the wonderful squeezes to his own cock as he worked on pleasing his lover, stroking his insides and spreading his fingers apart to fill the cavity. Even with the bucking from Karkat, he yearned for more. He removed his other hand from the grey tailbone and tried to fit it between them, wrapping his fingers around both to stroke the tangled sexes.

Arching his back, Karkat growled softly against his mate’s lips, nipping at them fervently before pulling away to breathe heavily against John’s neck. As John worked his bulge and his nook in blissful unison, Karkat arched and bowed to his every subtle movement. Gradually seeking soft, vulnerable flesh with his teeth, Karkat nipped at the other’s neck, pricking the human’s weak skin with his pointed teeth and leaving dark indentations and the occasional prick of scarlet blood.

Hissing at the renewed burn in his neck, John could only hope that the bruises would fade quickly – at least the lingering ache, anyway. His hand tightened around them as pointed teeth dug into his neck and threatened to break that already tender skin. He savored the jerks and humps Karkat couldn't help but make, staying vigilant to his cause.

With fingertips digging desperately into John’s back, Karkat rocked his hips against John’s, whimpering softly into his mouthful of muscle as he left a distinct set of teeth-marks at the joint between John’s neck and his jaw. Karkat’s pelvis trembled as John’s digits pressed against every subtle and sensitive ridge in his nook, and his hand stroked ardently over their entwined bulges. As John’s fingers pressed against the hot bundle of nerves at the back of his nook, the troll couldn’t help but bite down, piercing the skin and drawing a ring of tiny red droplets.

“FffUUckmmmmmm,” John bit onto his lip to quite himself, his hands stilling in an effort not to death-grip the two of them. His head went rigid to lessen the pain, every move sending a fierce shot through his shoulder. “Ah fuck.... owowowmmm.”

Karkat froze, jaw quivering before he forced his grip to slacken, taking back his maw and tasting the sharp metallic twinge of human blood on the points of his teeth. His fingers trembled against the dip of John’s spine and Karkat pressed his nose into the contused skin of his matesprit’s neck. As a shudder rippled up his spine, he stammered a broken “sorry” into the crook of John’s neck.

“Ssss don't apologize... your highness. All's fair...” With that he gave a reassuring squeeze to their members, rubbing their heads roughly.

Biting his lower lip, Karkat breathed hot and heavy against his mate’s clavicle, clenching his jaw as he swallowed hard to stifle a moan as John’s fingers pushed up into him again.

“Ffu-fuck,” he rasped into the crook of John’s neck, staving off the powerful urge to bite for real. He bit down on the desire to sink his teeth in and taste his kismesis’s blood wash over his tongue, to leave scars all up and down John’s neck, claiming him with aggressive and venomous affection.

Continuing his motions, John inhaled through his nose, keeping his breath quiet as he fought through the pain. It tingled and itched and burned, and in no way could he wrap his head around it feeling good. He just kept pumping ever so quickly to further them along.

Karkat breathed a shaky moan against John’s throat, barely able to stave off the numbing urge for flesh between his jaws. Karkat’s every instinct was screaming for him to riddle his mate’s throat with the imprint of his teeth, tearing skin and marking him, unraveling him down to his core piece by piece. Instead, Karkat dug his teeth into his lower lip until he whimpered against John’s clavicle in protest against the sharp pain.

John muttered under his breath as his hands worked furiously between them. He couldn't keep down a few mews himself as he pumped himself, the added constriction helping him along beautifully. John drew his head back, but winced immediately, cursing quietly. “Mmm ah, almost... mmm almost th-ah!”

As the sound of his lover’s moaning rung in his buzzing ears, Karkat lost his sense of control for enough of a moment to sink his pointed teeth into John’s skin again, this time targeting the clavicle. The bite itself was not much more than a short, sharp sting, drawing blood but not piercing deep before Karkat was able to rein himself back in. He grunted and groaned softly into the curve of John’s collarbone, squeezing at the human in his arms as he fought for words. “Mmmm g-get my pail, human!”

“Wh-where!?” John shot back, his hand losing its rhythm as he bucked involuntarily. John whined and ground his teeth, trying hard not to fire off just yet as the troll brought up the absence of his receptacle.

Gripping at the nape of his neck, Karkat whined as John’s fingers faltered, and the even beat of his quick pace was interrupted. “Big… Bigass chest. Far corner.” Karkat growled, his hips shivering under his lover’s influence, teeth gritting as he fought down the building need to break. “Be quick about it. I don’t fucking want to deal with cum-soaked sheets on account of your ineptitude.”

“Shhhhut up.” Leaning over to look behind himself, he cringed at the strain to his neck and the distinct feeling of dripping down his shoulder. He flipped open the lid of his magic chest with a snap of his wrist, a gust of wind making the heavy wood bang against the wall. He concentrated on making a current centered on the inside of the pail, pushing it with sharps breezes to kick it their way. Finally with conjuring a strained whirlwind, he flipped it up onto the bed, the metal container rolling over the sheets until his hit his back.

“Learn to take a complement,” the tyrant grumbled as he fumbled for the metal pail and pulled away from John, scrambling to his knees. Pulling the bucket to himself, Karkat crouched in the wrinkled bed sheets, hiking it up between his thighs and hissing as the cold metal pressed against his warm skin. He gripped the rim and leaned some of his weight into it until the edge dug into his palms. Without anything to grab, the emperor’s bulge coiled in on itself, making a sloppy spiral that dripped translucent lubricant, each drop hitting the bottom of the pail with a soft ‘plunk’. “Finish what you started,” Karkat ordered with halfhearted malice, voice trembling with need of release.

Still stiffening from the killer combo of neck pain and fleeting pleasure, John gave a breathy moan as he hauled himself up, mirroring Karkat. As their thighs touched, John's eyes were narrow, his expression feigning irritation and exhaustion. “Give me your word.”

“What?” Karkat hissed through his teeth, glowering directly into John’s eyes with hostile need. “What the fuck do you mean ‘give me your word’ you ignorant naïve? I told you that we’d discuss your piece-of-shit planet once I get my fucking release.” His hands moved from the rim of the pail to grip at John’s hips, digging in his blunted claws. “Finish this or I _will_ destroy your world _without_ negotiation.”

“How do I know you aren't going to destroy us anyway? Give me your word, or I'll be finishing this a different way.” To show his meaning, John's hand grabbed at Karkat's bulge and gave it a threatening squeeze and tug, pulling it out to its limit.

“You wouldn’t dare,” Karkat snarled, dark lips curling back to reveal vaguely bloodied teeth. When John’s resolve didn’t waver, however, he let out a low growl of frustration. “Fine, you maggot-eating wretch! You have my fucking word! Get me off now, and attacks on your planet are guaranteed to cease at least until the end of a four perigee negotiation period.” Karkat continued to glare at him, scanning over his bites and bruises with malign satisfaction while hate continued to roil in his stomach. “But, you are required to remain aboard this ship during that time. Do we have a fucking deal?”

With the smallest of smirks, the human representative shimmied forward and rewound them together, petting them quickly with a firm grip as he leaned forward to capture the troll's lips.

Karkat’s aggressive growl briefly melted into a soft sigh, and his hands slipped down to gently hold John’s rear, pulling him close with a quick squeeze. He whimpered sharply into the kiss, hips jerking and shivering as the urgency of his release returned quick enough to give his bulge whiplash. Before he could form the words to inform John of how close he really was, he was breaking with a lusty keen, bright red genetic fluid flowing over their met flesh and John’s fist.

Nipping the other's lip as he rode through his ecstasy, John slowed his speed and concentrated on pressure, squeezing him along every inch to milk him of every last drop. His cock ached for his own release, and as he felt Karkat's orgasm die down, he unwrapped himself and prodded his nook with the tips of his fingers, smirking into their lips. “Ready?”

“Do it,” Karkat just managed to breathe, the words trembled and barely made it past his tongue as he spoke against John’s smile. His eyes squeezed shut and he keened softly as John’s fingers pushed up into him, triggering his secondary release and spilling the last of him into the bucket below. Consumed by a heavy sense of relief, Karkat bowed forward, leaning against his matesprit’s shoulder, letting his role slide for a moment as he let the glow of euphoria sink in to his skin.

John bit his lip as the weight of his boyfriend pushed on his neck, and fingers covered in troll slime wrapped possessively around his own member, pumping his head quickly. “Almost,” he whispered gruffly.

As Karkat’s bulge found its way languidly back behind its sheath, he placed a grateful kiss against the bite on the side of John’s neck. A contented clicking rolled in his chest and one hand slipped from where it had been holding John’s rear to his quickly jerking hand. “Let me,” he mumbled softly into the crook of John’s neck, fighting to get a hold on his lover’s dick. “I want to be the one to make you cum.”

“NNNnnnnnah almost,” John hissed, slightly turning his hips away and silently denying Karkat. He held his breath and continued, feeling the cusp of his climax.

“Stop,” Karkat growled, bearing his teeth and quickly moving to seize John’s wrist and pull his hand away from his own dick. “I said let me,” Karkat’s voice rumbled, his patience waning. “That wasn’t a question or a suggestion. That was an order.” He gingerly took the human’s neck in his jaws, careful not to bite down, but letting John feel his threat while he took his dick in his hand, stroking it quickly and thumbing the tip.

“HaaaaaAH! Oh god don’t-right there, ha,” John groaned, unoccupied hands flying to Karkat's shoulders to hold him for support. “Jesus oh shit. Shit!”

Releasing the hold he had on John with his maw, Karkat kissed the bruises on his lover’s throat, breathing in the smell of blood and sweat and feeling John’s pulse against his lips. He hummed, low and assertive against pink and red and purple flesh, murmuring quiet words of encouragement into John’s neck. “There. You like that. I’ve got you.” He stroked the throbbing cock ardently, rubbing the pad of his thumb against the rosy, sensitive tip with every pass.

“I... I c-can't, please,” John practically begged, his eyes shut tight behind his glasses, fingers clenching on his biceps until they were numb. “AhAH oh God!” He bowed forward and came heavily into the warlord's grasp, his hips rocking with the waves of pleasure.

With a hum of satisfaction rolling in his chest, Karkat stroked his lover through his orgasm, ears training on the subtle sound of John’s essence dripping into the half-full pail to mix with his own. “There’s my boy,” he whispered softly, pressing a gentle kiss against the joint of John’s jaw. Karkat smirked against damp skin, brimming with the triumph of success. As John began to gradually come down off his high, Karkat dotingly kissed his way up and down the side of his neck, paying each puncture and contusion respect with a pass of his lips.

“If it pleases you, your majesty... fuck off.” Even with the playful hate, John was all smiles, resting his forehead on Karkat's decorated shoulder, hands smoothing over his arms to praise his good work.

Tilting his head slightly, Karkat kissed his lover’s ear and hummed contentedly. “I don’t know,” he murmured with a satisfied smile, “I kind of like you like this—all fuck-drunk and sated.” He nibbled gently on the lobe of John’s ear, just using his lips, making sure to keep John’s attention. “You’re a good fuck, too. I think I’ll keep you.”

“I'm. Not. A. Pet.” He growled back, dragging his nails a bit to fight back, trying feebly to pull away from the teasing to his ear. “I will not be owned... now negotiations.”

“I didn’t mean as my pet, John Egbert,” Karkat mumbled, motioning quickly to captchalogue the used bucket before anything unfortunate happened to it. He shivered as John scratched at his spine, hunching over to keep his face nestled in the crook of John’s neck. “I want you as my kismesis. Regardless of what I decide to do with your planet, I want you here. I want to feel your hate in every waking second of my life. I want your eyes boring holes into my heart from across the breakfast table. I want your bruises permanently on my neck and mine on yours.” Giving John’s jaw another affable kiss, Karkat leaned back to look John in the eye again, smirk fading for a serious expression. “How about that for negotiation? Be my kismesis. Let this be a regular occurrence, and my armada will turn around and find another planet to exploit.”

“You want me to abandon my home for you, and you'll never... return. You'll never even think about Earth, if I stay with you?” Thinking his dramatized situation through, a better plan than staving off a tyrant's ruling on his home planet would be to take his mind off of it completely. That meant he—as a human—would be an alien himself on some ship sailing off to uncharted regions of space.

“I’ll black out your entire solar system in the imperial database if you’ll stay with me. I’ve never hated another creature so much in all my life, John.” Karkat’s ears folded back slightly and he gave the human a look of frustration that quickly bled into a pleading expression. “Consider my offer. You’d guarantee the safety of your world from the Alternian Empire, and command a position of power within our social hierarchy as my kismesis. After all, isn’t it said in your culture that the good of the many supersedes the fate of the one?”

“So you _have_ been looking into us as a culture? Maybe you're not a crazy as I first thought.” His forced smirk faded as he looked away, giving the look of contemplation. “... I accept. For the sake of Earth, I, John Egbert, will remain with you if my planet and all of its inhabitants are safe.”

“Then we have a deal.” With a flick of his wrist, Karkat produced his crab-shaped communicator watch and immediately began to dictate to it. “Come in Commander Maryam.”

“Karkat?” The device replied in the familiar voice. “Have you any idea what time it is?”

“Indeed. It is time to begin charting a new course. I’ve derived all I wish from this planetary system. We shall take our conquest elsewhere. Erase this solar system from our databases. We will not be returning.”

“Karkat what on Alternia are you talk-”

“The human has agreed to my conditions and will remain in our custody. Our mission here is complete.”

“Karkat, are you feeling alright? You’re not making any -”

“Over and out.” Karkat quickly shut off the communicator, forcing it to disappear back into his sylladex with a quick gesture. With a victorious smirk, he turned back to John. “There. Are you satisfied?”

John's lips had disappeared inside his mouth as he attempted to suppress his laughter. Giving a quick snort and sigh, he nodded seriously, taking Karkat's hands in his own. “It's a deal... Vantas.”

With a hum, Karkat smiled and squeezed his lover’s hands before leaning forward and pressing a quick peck to John’s lips. “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he murmured, blinking at his matesprit and letting his shoulders relax, finally allowing himself to slip out of character. “Thanks.”

“I hate to admit it, but it was a pleasure doing business with you.”

“Glad to hear the pleasure wasn’t _all_ mine then,” Karkat snorted, sitting back on his ankles and letting his hands fall to his lap. “So… maybe we could do this again sometime? You know… if you want to shake things up a bit.” Karkat gave John a sheepish look, reaching up gingerly to touch the bruises he’d left on John’s throat.

“Well that role-playing was fun... maybe not so much goring me next time.” He placed a palm on his still stinging neck, pressing gingerly into the wound. “... but this was fun.”

“Good,” Karkat mumbled back with a half-smile, “great. Fuck. Sorry I got so caught up in the,” he gestured indistinctly with his hands and gives John a frustrated look of worry, “you know… blackrom shit.” His expression was one of guilt and he hunched slightly, glancing up at John as if waiting to be reprimanded.

“No, no it's... okay, I just have to ask now, ‘cause I'm confused... Do you hate me?”

There was a pause and a slight shift before Karkat leaned forward and wrapped his arms tightly around his lover’s belly, pulling him close and trying to avoid the bruises on his throat and shoulder as he buried his face in the crook of John’s neck. “Fuck. No. God, no. John I could never fucking hate you. I pity you so fucking much. I fucking human love you, John. I’m… fuck I’m sorry.”

“Hey whoa whoa hey... like 'love-hate' whatever. I love you, I'm sorry for asking, don't freak... Karkat?”

“It was just supposed to be part of the role-play. I kind of let it all go to my head though.” Leaning back, Karkat shook his head to clear it. “I’ve never had a kismesis… pretending to hate you was kind of new and exciting, but fuck. I could never hate you for real, John.”

“Oh, okay.” John grew an easy smile, sitting to his side there in his matsprit's arms. He placed a doting hand on the troll's flushed cheek, patting him gently. “So... what's next on the list?”

“I don’t know…” Karkat leaned his head on John’s shoulder. “Isn’t it your turn now by default?” He gingerly scratched at the dark bruises on his neck, wincing slightly and smiling sheepishly at the twinge of pain. “I mean. We could always be vanilla for a bit too… to make the special nights extra special.” He shrugged, turning his eyes up to glance at John. “Whatever you want, really.”

“Well, I want some gauze and some sleep right now,” John chuckled, brushing Karkat's bangs back. “Sound good to you?”

“Anything for you, shitlord,” Karkat replied with a smile, pressing his lips quickly to John’s ear before slipping off the bed and stretching his shoulders. John caught his first glimpse of the troll’s back as he made his way towards the ablution block for the emergency medical kit—his thick, grey skin was riddled with reddish welts where John had dug his nails in and raked them all the way down his back. Before he could say anything though, Karkat had slipped into the bathroom and was rummaging around in the cabinet under the sink.

Sitting there, letting every bump and bruise set in, John sighed and tried to relax, hoping he wouldn't scar. He particularly liked the way his neck region had looked, and putting this mauled wound on display wasn't really what he was going for. Sure a hickey here and there was a little public fun, showing off what they'd done to each other during the throes of passion, but this was likely to be an irritating and long recovery.

When Karkat finally returned, he was carrying a white plastic medical kit and a damp washcloth. Wordlessly he took up residence beside his matesprit, carefully dabbing at the bites on his neck and collarbone, washing away the crusted blood and cleaning off John’s rough patches. When he was through washing off the dried blood, Karkat leaned forward and gave the joint of John’s neck a doting kiss before popping open the lid of the first aid box. He quickly opened a package of alcohol wipes, giving the rings of teeth-marks on John’s skin a quick rubdown to be sure they were clean, rasping a quiet apology as John flinched. Finally Karkat meticulously smeared healing salve on the little punctures and covered both bites with clean gauze patches, each taped carefully in place.

All the while the human watched him fuss over him, smirking through the little twinges until he was done, giving a thumbs-up to his work. “You ok? I don't need to patch you up, do I?”

Snapping the first-aid box shut, Karkat shook his head slightly and gave John a bit of a sheepish smirk. “No. You didn’t break my skin or anything. Besides… even if I don’t hate you, I kind of like all the bruises and scratches and stuff.” He idly scratched at the back of his neck, feeling the tiny twinges of damaged skin under his fingertips.

“Well don't I have a little weirdo of a boyfriend,” he snorted, leaning over to peck his cheek. “I'm definitely gonna have to sleep sitting up... shit.” John rolled his eyes, quickly re-situating the pillows to prop himself up.

“Sorry again,” Karkat muttered, turning to let his legs slip off the bed, folding his hands in his lap and kicking his feet idly. “Can I get you anything since I still feel pretty shitty for fucking you up so bad?” Karkat’s ears flicked  nervously and he watched John try to get situated in bed.

“... probably some meds. It's gonna suck later.”

“Here,” with an apologetic look, Karkat passed the first aid kit to his matesprit before slipping off the edge of the bed again. “There’s some analgesics in there. I’ll get you some water.” He dutifully shuffled back off to the bathroom, returning promptly with a cup of cold tap water. “Anything else while I’m up?”

John had already started dozing; his head leaned back into the top pillow. He lazily shook his head and fumbled with the latch to the kit.

With a sigh and a slight smirk, Karkat took back the box and opened it for him, taking out the bottle of Tylenol and dosing out two pills, handing them off to John before he could fall asleep. Shutting everything up and stashing the kit under John’s bed, Karkat leaned over his matesprit, brushing damp, jet bangs out of his face and pressing a doting kiss to John’s tired lips. “Love you,” he murmured before flicking the lights off and plodding to the foot of the bed where his recuperacoon sat, climbing over the lip and slipping into the lime-green slime with a contented sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to my co-author Miraijo and beta-readers Teaandcharcoal (http://archiveofourown.org/users/teaandcharcoal/) and Sumevian (http://archiveofourown.org/users/sumevian) for all the help putting this story together! I look forward to uploading more of this story as more chapters are written and polished.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my co-author Miraijo and beta-readers Teaandcharcoal (http://archiveofourown.org/users/teaandcharcoal/) and Sumevian (http://archiveofourown.org/users/sumevian) for all the help putting this story together! I look forward to uploading more of this story as more chapters are written and polished.


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